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International Affairs Events Archive

January - May 2009

• Ministers from countries around the world will meet March 16-20 in Istanbul Turkey at the 5th World Water Forum to address the challenges of fresh water. The World Water Forum occurs every three years to advance the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water. At the 2006 4th World Water Forum in Mexico, participants exchanged practical tools and solutions and recognized the “importance of domestic and international policies that foster and assist building capacities and cooperation at all levels to mitigate water-related disasters including prevention, preparedness, risk assessment, community awareness, resilience and response.” Ministers also recognized the importance of local and regional engagement to promote sustainable use of water and integrated water resource management. The issues of water related disasters and integrated water resource management are central to NOAA’s weather and water mission, “together, we monitor, enhance, and deliver environmental information, science and services to save lives, protect property, and support environment”. Likewise NOAA’s efforts to produce better, quicker and more valuable weather and water information improve our understanding of climate change and its impacts. In Istanbul, NOAA will participate in sessions related to integrated coastal zone management with partners from the public sector; new technologies for water management with a focus on disasters; and a high-level panel regarding water and climate. Additional information can be found at: http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/.
• The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) took place in Baltimore, MD, from 6-17 of April 2009. This was the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty. The meeting was opened with the first Arctic Council-Antarctic Treaty Joint Ministerial meeting. Secretary Clinton's remarks can be found at http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entries/antarctic_treaty/. At the ATCM, the Parties agreed to several new measures and initiatives proposed by the United States to improve tourism management in Antarctica, with the goal of protecting the Antarctic environment and improving human safety. Parties agreed to a measure that limits the size of passenger vessels that may land persons to 500, with no more than 100 persons on land at any time. The Parties also agreed to seek the views of the other interested component of the Antarctic Treaty System, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), on asking the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to extend the Antarctic Special Area to the Antarctic Convergence Zone, to protect the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. The Parties further agreed to ask the IMO to agree a binding code for ships operating in Antarctica, with special attention to life boats and life saving appliances. The Parties also agreed to revise the measures on Protection of Flora and Fauna, to reflect updated scientific terminology, improve protection for terrestrial invertebrates, extend measure to prevent introduction of invasive species, and to improve the process for listing and de-listing of specially protected species. The Parties received the Liberian ship registry's report of the investigation of the sinking of the passenger vessel M/V Explorer in 2007. This was a sobering report, which included many recommendations to prevent future incidents. IMO will consider this report in the coming year as well. The meeting was preceded by a workshop to improve coordination between the scientific bodies of the ATCM and CCAMLR, which made significant progress on topics including marine protected areas, protection of marine species, environmental monitoring, climate change, and non-native species. The ATCM agreed to hold two Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts (ATME) to advise the next ATCM on high priority issues. New Zealand will host an ATME on ship-borne tourism, and Norway will host an ATME on climate change and environmental monitoring. Additional information can be found at: www.ats.aq.
• Third Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) was held April 27 - May 1, in Bergen, Norway. The meeting participants agreed to include the three North Pacific albatross species on ACAP's list of covered species. As a result, all albatross species in the world are covered by ACAP. Additional information can be found at: www.acap.aq.
• The Arctic Council Ministerial, which took place in Tromso April 28, endorsed the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment. The 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment identified shipping as a sector of the economy likely to be heavily affected by climate change in the Arctic. Consequently, the United States, Canada and Finland led the AMSA project, based on a mandate in the Arctic Council 2004 Reykjavik Declaration. The AMSA includes recommendations in three areas: Enhancing Arctic Marine Safety, Protecting Arctic People and the Environment, and Building the Arctic Marine Infrastructure. These non-binding recommendations will help set the future agenda of the Arctic Council, Arctic and non-Arctic States, international organizations, and shipping interests, as they respond to the possibility of a mostly "ice-free" Arctic Ocean as early as summer 2013.