13 November 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GRID-Arendal released a report on the Abidjan Convention “Sustainable Seas” pilot workshop, which focused on developing capacity for sustainable management of the marine environment in coastal communities from Mauritania to South Africa.

The workshop, which took place in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire from 18-21 June, gathered a total of 26 participants from Abidjan Convention member States, representatives from UNEP/GRID-Arendal, partner organizations and the Abidjan Convention Secretariat.

The workshop aimed to identify capacity building needs and priorities for the development of a full-scale Sustainable Seas programme in the Abidjan Convention region. The report provides background on the Ecosystem-based Management (EbM) framework, “a holistic, integrated approach that looks at marine and coastal ecosystems as units with many ecological and social links.” It then summarizes outcomes and recommendations from the workshop’s four thematic sessions: the EbM framework; the involvement of the offshore oil and gas sector in EbM; the role of marine data and information in EbM; and marine assessments.

The report concludes by highlighting the way forward in the short-term (0-12 months) and the mid- and long-term (1-5 years). Short term objectives include the development of a reporting template for Abidjan Convention Focal Points and capacity development for national marine assessments. Mid- and long-term objectives include, inter alia: organizational activities such as awareness raising workshops; technical workshops on monitoring, data and information management; communication and outreach; and the development of supporting tools, such as the Abidjan Convention marine environmental data and information portal.

Annexed in the report are a list of participants, the workshop agenda and survey results from member States of the Abidjan Convention. [UNEP/GRID-Arendal Press Release] [Abidjan Convention Sustainable Seas Pilot Workshop Report]