The fifth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working
Group to study issues relating to the conservation and
sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of
national jurisdiction (hereafter, the Working Group) opens today
and will continue until 11 May 2012, at the UN Headquarters in
New York. The Working Group will focus on: marine genetic
resources, including questions on the sharing of benefits,
measures such as area-based management tools, including marine
protected areas, and environmental impact assessments, capacity
building, and the transfer of marine technology; the
organization of intersessional workshops aimed at improving
understanding of the issues and clarifying key questions as an
input to the work of the Working Group; and the identification
of gaps and ways forward, with a view to ensuring an effective
legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of
marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The
Working Group’s recommendations will be submitted