Side Event
An Interactive Ocean Data Viewer: Enhancing marine and coastal data accessibility and quality, and building technical capacity for implementation of CBD Programmes of Work.
Organizer
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Date and Time
21 October 2010 18:15 - 19:45
Meeting
Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10)
Effective use of data and information, and the technical capacity to do so, is an essential prerequisite for successful implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, including the Programmes of Work on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, Island Biodiversity, and Protected Areas. However, data gaps in the marine environment have been repeatedly highlighted as a key challenge to understanding of current status and monitoring progress, as well as informing planning and prioritisation for implementation of the Programmes of Work and related COP decisions. UNEP-WCMC has been working closely with partners including the CBD Secretariat to implement COP Decision IX/20, to develop an online interactive map and associated tools to support decision making for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the open ocean and deep seas. Building upon this decision, and incorporating related needs in the Island Biodiversity and Protected Areas Programme of Work, UNEP-WCMC has initiated a collaborative Global Marine Data Partnership, whose aim is to: • convene a network of partners engaged in marine and coastal biodiversity-related monitoring to build collaboration on data collection and standardisation; • enhance the quality, integration and interoperability of data sets ; • increase availability and access to this data through online data repository/ies, including an Ocean Data Viewer developed by UNEP-WCMC. These activities directly respond to SBSTTA recommendation XIV/3, which will be considered by COP10, through, inter alia, enabling improved assessment activities, supporting the identification of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs), and promoting better understanding of specific and cumulative human impacts, including those of invasive alien species. This latter issue is of particular concern to the Island Biodiversity Programme of Work. These activities also support several international observation and assessment processes, including the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), moves towards the UN Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the Marine Environment, including Socio-Economic Aspects, the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP), and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This side event will present an overview of the data and capacity needs for implementation of components of various CBD Programmes of Work, including necessary research, monitoring and impact assessments, and will demonstrate the progress made by the international marine community on delivering valuable interactive map tools, the relevant activities of key partners, and the capacity-building opportunities for parties involved in the sustainable management of the oceans.