Monaco workshop for Rio+20

Mr. Neven Stipica, PAP/RAC Programme Officer, attended the workshop “Sustainable Oceans in the Context of the Green Economy and the Eradication of Poverty” in Monaco on 28-30 November. The workshop was organised under the high patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, as a contribution to the preparatory process of the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD2012) called Rio+20, that will be held in Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 6 June 2012. The results of the Monaco workshop will feed directly into the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference.

The workshop was attended by representatives of governments, researchers and experts, representatives of relevant UN entities, civil society, economists, as well as representatives of the business sector from different regions of the world. The workshop was organised around three principal themes: food safety and security; energy; and tourism. The objectives were to promote and share best practices, and to propose concrete political recommendations to Rio+20 to achieve a sustainable use of oceans.

Mr. Stipica informed the participants of the ICZM Protocol to the Barcelona Convention which was recognised as a unique example with potential for replication. In the final paper of the workshop entitled “Monaco Message” ICZM is recommended as a tool for sustainable development in coastal zones.

In the closing session of the workshop, the participants were addressed by H.E. Mr. Sha Zukang, Secretary General UNCSD, Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, who expressed his satisfaction with the presentations and discussions in the sessions. The workshop was closed by HSH Prince Albert II who reiterated his concern about the state of the oceans and coasts, and raised hopes that the outcome of the workshop would contribute to their protection.