February 2015: The Global Ocean Commission (GOC) has released proposed indicators for a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on oceans and seas. GOC released the indicators as a contribution to the negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda.
In its final report, the Open Working Group (OWG) on the SDGs included Goal 14, “Conserve and Sustainably Use the Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources for Sustainable Development” and proposed a set of ten accompanying targets, including actions to address illegal fishing, mitigate ocean acidification, establish marine protected areas (MPAs) and eliminate fishing subsidies.
It is important that Goal 14’s ten targets are “guided by clear and measurable indicators” to ensure accurate monitoring of progress, GOC states in its ‘Elements of Indicators for the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Ocean and Seas.’ The document presents each of the ten targets, proposes indicators and provides an explanation of the proposed indicators. For instance, the GOC proposes two indicators for the target to minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels: research programmes on carbon sequestration trends; and monitor pH vulnerable species populations, such as coral reefs. In the explanation, the GOC emphasizes the link between the adoption of the SDGs and action on climate change, saying that efforts to take collective action to curb carbon dioxide emissions should occur at the source and that scientific research is needed to monitor the consequences of carbon surplus in the ocean on marine ecosystems.
On target 14.4 to, inter alia, regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices and restore fish stocks, GOC proposes both policy-oriented and results-oriented indicators for each of the target sub-components. On IUU fishing, for example, proposed indicators include ones on the number of ratifications to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Port States Measures Agreement and the number of fishing vessels suspected of IUU operations identified by law enforcement agencies and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs).
Through this document, the GOC aims to encourage the adoption of such indicators to reinforce the proposed SDG ocean and seas targets and accelerate their implementation. [GOC Press Release] [Publication: Proposed Elements of Indicators for SDG Goal 14—Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources]