Rome, 8 June 2020 - The approval of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) new work programme of USD 700 million for urgent environmental action – through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic – will enable FAO to continue its efforts to improve fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in our...

* Access FAO Story here Protecting our oceans is no easy task.  Despite knowing how essential oceans are for our ecosystems, for biodiversity, for food, for income and even for our existence, oceans are vast and managing them is complex, especially as large parts of them are a shared...

The five-year, $50-million Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Common Oceans ABNJ Program rolled out by FAO and partners has made remarkable progress in protecting international waters' biodiversity by rendering fishing in these waters less harmful to several marine species, including sea turtles and tuna.  

As a migratory fish species, tuna can swim thousands of miles between countries and across the open ocean, straddling both the exclusive economic zones as well as the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Approximately seven million tonnes of tuna and tuna-like species are landed yearly, and there are over 96...

The process of developing a new international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) continued with a third session of the Intergovernmental Conference – referred...