JEDDAH, 1 November 2007 — The ninth global meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAP) ended in Jeddah yesterday with the release of the Jeddah Declaration. The declaration set out the program for the protection of the marine environment and coastal regions of member states for the next four years.
The Jeddah Declaration, agreed by the parties from 104 countries, acknowledged as axiomatic the “ultimate dependence of life including mankind and other life forms on the health and integrity of the marine environment.” It also recognized the value of marine and coastal resources as the main source of food security, wealth and health for a “significant number of people in the world.”
Seventy percent of the world’s megacities and 38 percent of the global population, the declaration confirmed, live in coastal areas and the meeting recognized the damage to the coastal environment that was resulting and had resulted from urbanization.
The declaration said that RSCAP had a key role in “facilitating the implementation” of current and future conventions and strategies” but admitted that “effective integration of policies and programs addressing marine/coastal protection and sustainable development requires comprehensive approaches,” the implication voiced among delegates during recesses being that not everyone was on board yet.
One delegate said that acceptance of the fact that something had to be done was equally slow among both developed and developing nations.
“Education is a key route,” he said, “if we can get the message to teachers and out to children, this would be a positive route.”
He agreed that pressure from the government down was not as effective as education and pressure from the people upward.
The meeting resolved to support previous RSCAP commitments to implement protocols that addressed land based pollution sources and activities. With Saudi Arabia’s proposed urban developments on the Red Sea coast and industrial complexes on the northern Gulf coast, this was particularly relevant to the Kingdom.
The meeting emphasized in the declaration its intention to furthering RSCAP with regard to adaptation to and mitigating the impacts of climate change. It also identified international governance and scientific issues regarding the high seas and deep-water ecosystems and biodiversity as areas of attention for the RSCAPS. Economic valuation of environmental goods and services the meeting agreed should be mainstreamed by the RSCAPS into national development planning and poverty reduction efforts — that is, putting a cost/benefit on the environment.
The meeting also heard from the Deputy Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries for Indonesia of the preparations for the World Oceans Conference (WOC) which will be held in Manado, North Sulawesi in March 2009.
