The Ocean Account | A newsletter from the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership
The Ocean Account vol. 8 | October 2024

A note from GOAP's Co-Chairs

Dear GOAP friends and colleagues, 

This past quarter has seen the growth of ocean accounting Communities of Practice in Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, national workshops in Fiji, Costa Rica, Thailand and the Philippines and several exciting national announcements for sustainable ocean development. In this edition of the newsletter you fill find an overview of these events as well as upcoming events in sustainable ocean development and new knowledge products from the global community. 

Last week, Australian federal and state governments co-hosted the Global Nature Positive Summit, which united leaders from government, corporate sector, research organisations and Indigenous Peoples to accelerate collective action to drive investment in nature and strengthen activities to protect and repair our environment. The Ocean Dialogue at the Summit provided a focused forum to discuss Australia’s draft Sustainable Ocean Plan. As Chair of one discussion, GOAP Secretariat Co-Director, Eliza Northrop has summarised the highlights here

The GOAP Secretariat has also published multiple Expert Insights exploring how ocean accounts inform key policy priorities for a sustainable ocean economy, including more sustainable tourism and disaster risk resilience.  

Looking forward, we are preparing for the upcoming 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Colombia and will be working with the GOAP Secretariat to ensure our work on the linkages between ocean accounts and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is integrated into decision-making and announcements by Parties. Learn more by reading the Policy Brief prepared by the GOAP Secretariat here

Happy reading,  

Latest News

Marine Ecosystem Accounts Complete in Ecuador

In September, the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands presented the results from their project which developed extent and condition ecosystem accounts for the Ecuador's insular Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including two marine reserves: Galapagos and Hermandad. The key points: 

This initiative is a crucial step toward understanding the vital role of marine ecosystems in supporting key sectors of the economy in Ecuador. The GOAP Secretariat is excited about this progress and looks forward to continued collaboration with partners to strengthen efforts for sustainable ocean management in the region and globally.  

Learn more about who was involved and next steps here. 


"Estas cuentas son una herramienta fundamental para la gobernanza marina, permitiendo a los formuladores de políticas diseñar regulaciones más sostenibles al reconocer el valor económico y ecológico de los servicios ecosistémicos."

 
Charles Darwin Foundation via LinkedIn

Project update: Accounting for Costa Rica's Oceans

Costa Rica convened the country’s first in-person ocean accounting workshop in August, bringing together > 20 organisations to enhance their skills and collaborate on identifying existing data, institutions, and processes that could be leveraged for ocean accounting.  

Looking ahead, Costa Rica is planning an event in the first quarter of 2025, which will

  • Convene ocean account practitioners, funding organisations and government representatives from around the globe;
  • Foster collaboration to design a roadmap for creating a comprehensive ocean account for Costa Rica by 2030;
  • Welcome countries from Latin America and the Caribbean interested in developing ocean accounts to share expertise and knowledge and use Costa Rica's discussion as a blueprint for action in their own nations; and
  • Culminate in a potential commitment on ocean accounts during the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 3) in Nice, June 2025.
Learn more about Costa Rica's ocean accounts

Project update: Developing, Piloting, and Implementing Ocean Accounts for Belize

Belize’s Ministry of Blue Economy and Disaster Risk Management and the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute (CZMAI), in partnership with the GOAP, has launched a two-year pilot project aimed at creating a robust national ocean accounting framework. The project stems from a workshop held in August 2023, which underscored the need for comprehensive ocean accounting to safeguard Belize's marine ecosystems. 
 
A Project Steering Committee has been established, consisting of Belizean representatives from government, academia, and marine co-managers, to guide the project in line with national blue economy goals. The first Committee meeting was held in September 2024. 

Over the next two years, the project aims to:  

  • Build national capacity to compile and manage ocean accounts.  

  • Gain a detailed understanding of the extent and condition of coral reefs, with a focus on the Ambergris Caye Reef.  

  • Develop a national Ocean Tourism Satellite Account to assess the economic value and sustainability of tourism activities.  

  • Demonstrate the potential of ocean accounts to support sustainable planning and policy-making for Belize’s blue economy.  

The project will host a national workshop in November 2024, focusing on data management platforms for ocean accounts. More information about this project can be found here.    

We’re inviting experts to provide their views on gender equity in biodiversity and climate. We are gathering views through an online survey, which has a particular focus on gender finance and inclusion of women at upcoming Conference of the Parties (COPs).

This is part of the ‘
Nature’s Leading Women’ initiative which is led by The Nature Conservancy and is being supported by host of the GOAP Secretariat, the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform. 

Professionals will need to work in one of the following sectors: 
Government (local, state, national, international), Research/Academia, Consultancy, Non-governmental, Intergovernmental or Civil Society Organizations (NGOs), Multilateral Development Banks, or Funding bodies. 

Complete the survey here.

Recent & Upcoming Events

8-10 October 2024 | Global Nature Positive Summit, Ocean Dialogue | Sydney, Australia 
The Ocean Dialogue, held during the Global Nature Positive Summit, provided a focused forum for discussing Australia’s draft Sustainable Ocean Plan (SOP). Moderated by Director of the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform and Co-Director of the GOAP Secretariat, Eliza Northrop, the event highlighted the priorities and challenges in implementing Australia's SOP, including collaboration, data and knowledge production. Realising the plan's vision will demand a concerted effort from all stakeholders and the success will depend on ongoing engagement, adaptive management, and a shared commitment to a healthy, productive, and sustainable ocean future. Read the Centre's expert insight on the topic here

21 October – 1 November 2024 | COP16 to the Convention on Biological Diversity | Cali, Colombia 
The GOAP Secretariat is preparing for the upcoming 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Colombia and will be working to  further our work on the linkages between ocean accounts and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Learn more by reading the Policy Brief prepared by the GOAP Secretariat here.   

 

6-7 November | 4th International Conference on Sustainable Americas (CAS 2024) | Chile 
This event will provide a space to share regional updates in cooperation, social innovation, and environmental restoration for sustainable development in Latin America to strengthen collaboration links and knowledge generation for the dissemination of research work from universities. 

New Knowledge Products

Knowledge products for data-driven solutions for decision-making and plastics management 

In lead-up to the fifth and final round of negotiations for the global plastic treaty (INC-5), taking place in Busan, South Korea this November, the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform has developed several knowledge products to support data-driven decision-making

  1. The Plastics Data Checklist and associated Guide to support countries to systematically assess the availability of national data on plastics throughout the lifecycle. This critical tool enables countries to better understand the national availability of data on plastics across the lifecycle, as required by the legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. 

  1. The annotated compilation draft of the treaty: reviews the current compilation draft for the legally binding instrument from a data lens, highlighting the essential language to retain to ensure an ambitious but achievable and equitable instrument. 

View the Data Checklist and User Guide here and the annotated draft here [link to come]. 

Expert insight on using ocean accounts to support sustainable coastal tourism 


Tourism contributes to 10% of global GDP and ~30% of GDP for Small Island Developing States. While economically important, tourism can place significant strain on local resources and ecosystems. How can we better understand the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism? In the latest expert insight, the GOAP Secretariat delves into the potential for ocean accounts to support more sustainable coastal tourism. 
 
Read the expert insight here

Policy Brief Blue Thread: Aligning National Climate and Biodiversity Strategies 


This week, the Ocean & Climate Platform and the Blue Marine Foundation, supported by several organisations, launched the policy brief “Blue Thread: Aligning National Climate and Biodiversity Strategies”. While countries are expected to submit new, more ambitious strategies to fight biodiversity loss and climate change, this brief explores how the ocean can provide integrated solutions to address these crises as one and the same, weaving a “blue thread” across the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

Read the policy brief here.

Expert insight into UNGA and New York Climate Week 2024 

Many attendees of the 79th UN General Assembly (UNGA79) were anticipating the highlight of events to be the Summit of the Future. While UNSW researchers Angelique Pouponneau and Jeremy Ragauin celebrate its adoption, they think there are five other outcomes that give us even more hope for the future. 

Read the expert insight here

Research publications

Identifying the Institutional Modalities for Commencing Environmental-Economic Accounting for the Ocean


This paper provides a global review of 24 countries that have begun Ocean Accounting (OA) activities and analyses the different implementation modes—government-led and externally led. Through a Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) analysis, offering insights into the strategic and operational implications of each mode and highlights the transition pathways between them. This research aims to help countries better align their OA activities with national capacities and policy needs to ensure long-term sustainability and success.  
You can read the full article here

Optimising Marine Basic Spatial Units (MBSU) for Ocean Accounting using empirical data from Saleh Bay, Indonesia 

This study explores the impact of different grid sizes and methods for Marine Basic Spatial Units (MBSU) on the accuracy and computational cost of ecosystem extent accounts in coastal and marine areas. Using Indonesia’s Saleh Bay as a case study, the paper highlights the trade-offs between grid resolution, computational cost, and data accuracy when delineating ecosystems for ocean accounting. The results provide important insights for countries looking to optimize MBSU for ecosystem and environmental-economic accounting. 
Read the full article here

Ocean accounting projects around the world

Belize  •  Costa Rica  •  Maldives  •  Norway

Belize

Ocean accounts to accerlate the blue economy.

Maldives

Natural Capital Accounting in Laamu Atoll, the Maldives

Costa Rica

Costa Rica's progress to 2030.

Norway

Ocean accounts for the sustainable development of Oslofjord, Norway
See all GOAP-support projects

Submit your news 

If you have any updates you would like to share through this newsletter, please get in touch with the GOAP Secretariat and we will include your items in the next edition. Please send your submissions of 250 words, plus any relevant links by 10 December 2024, to be included in Vol. 9. 

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