Online Discussion Forum on ecologically or biologically significant marine areas

This online discussion forum is intended to provide an opportunity for discussions and sharing of views on the issues addressed in the annex to recommendation 24/10, “ecologically or biologically significant marine areas”. This recommendation was adopted by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its twenty-fourth meeting.

In this recommendation, SBSTTA noted that the work on this issue was not completed at its twenty-fourth meeting due to the extraordinary circumstances prevailing. In the same recommendation, SBSTTA requested the Executive Secretary to advance discussions on this issue prior to the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to facilitate focused deliberations on these issues at that meeting. This online discussion forum is being convened in line with this request.

This discussion forum will be preceded by an opening webinar and followed by a closing webinar, as follows:

• Opening webinar: 14 September 2022, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. EDT (introduction to the forum, its objective and focus of discussion)
• Online discussion forum: 15-16 and 19-20 September 2022 (written comments posted by participants on dedicated webpage)
• Closing webinar: 21 September 2022, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. EDT (summary of the discussion and guidance on next steps)

Participants will be invited to consider a number of guiding questions organized by "threads" (topics). Participants are invited to post comments and engage in the discussions throughout the four days of the Forum by subscribing to one or more of the existing threads. All threads will be active during this time.

For more information https://www.cbd.int/marine/forum/sept-2022/