Immediately after 5 days of debates in Marseille, Mr. Philippe Martin, French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, gathered in Ajaccio 19 ministers of nations representing the world's oceans. This Ministerial Conference, held in the presence of numerous representatives of governments, international institutions and NGOs, was structured around three roundtables, on the following subjects: the benefits and urgency of conserving the oceans, promoting the regional scale as the appropriate framework for effective action, and international initiatives needed to protect the high seas. Exchanges paved the way for a common declaration, based on the outcomes delivered by experts who met in Marseille over the course five days. Its signatories reaffirmed their determination to reach the target of covering 10 percent of the oceans with marine protected areas by 2020 (Aichi 11). Part of the Ministerial Message from Ajaccio Recalling the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and in particular Part XII regarding the protection and preservation of the marine environment, Recalling the conclusions of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, (Rio+20) adopted unanimously by the General Assembly of the United Nations, in particular paragraphs 162 and 177 regarding the importance of creating marine protected areas and the urgency of reaching a decision on the launch of international negotiations on an international instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, Recalling the commitment of the international community as part of the ten-year strategic plan adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010, and in particular Target 11 ("Aichi target"), We, Ministers, representatives of all the world's main regions, meeting at Ajaccio on 26 October 2013, Warmly welcome the NGOs, scientists, managers of protected marine areas, the representatives of the local communities and companies who met at Marseille from 21 to 25 October 2013, whose conclusions (in annexe 1) comprised the basis for the reflections and recommendations of the ministerial session at Ajaccio, Emphasise that the good health of the oceans is essential for maintaining life throughout the world and that within them, protected marine areas, including highly protected marine reserves, play a crucial role in protecting marine biodiversity whose long-term survival is vital for sustainable development and the future of mankind, Are concerned that, with less than 3% of the oceans covered by protected marine areas, the required level of protection is far from being achieved, this percentage being even lower when only areas that are under effective management are accounted for. Today, we launch the Message from Ajaccio, one of urgent action, mobilisation and the desire to act together at all levels to meet the challenges: We thus reaffirm our strong commitment to strive to achieve the Aichi Target 11, recognised by the Rio+20 Summit, to establish by 2020 a network of comprehensive and coherent protected marine areas effectively managed and covering at least 10% of the oceans, We emphasise that these protected areas should cover the whole range of the ecoregions representative of the diversity of the oceans and to do so cover all relevant areas, in coastal zones and offshore, including the deep seas, whether they are located in areas under national jurisdiction or beyond national jurisdiction, We encourage the close association of all elements of civil society, science, local communities, NGOs and businesses in particular, to ensure that all the conditions required for the successful establishment and management of protected marine areas are put in place, and we welcome, at this occasion, the decisive and exemplary role of the managers of these areas. We recognise that MPAs have a prominent place in integrated maritime policies and in marine spatial planning. We encourage to include nature conservation targets in activities developed at sea. We affirm our desire to develop sustainable financing mechanisms that meet the needs for the effective management of protected marine areas and welcome the launch by the governments of Monaco, France and Tunisia of such an initiative for the Mediterranean sea. We welcome the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO) announced at Rio + 20 as a tri-lateral public-private-civil society partnership that mobilizes knowledge and finance to accelerate the conservation and restoration of marine and coastal habitats, including MPAs and other area based measures agreed to in Aichi target 11. www.impac3.org/en/news/all/156-plenaries/380-ajaccio-ministerial-message-for-the-conservation-of-the-high-seas www.impac3.org/en/congress/ajaccio-ministerial-conference www.globaloceancommission.org/fr/news/global-ocean-commission-welcomes-ajaccio-call-to-action/

• published: 29 Oct 2013
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