During Peace Boat’s recent call to the Chilean port of Valparaíso, we were honoured to host a Blue Economy Forum onboard with many local partners!
With three segments focusing respectively on Chile and the Ocean: The Importance of the BBNJ Treaty to protect Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, also known as the High Seas Treaty, Innovation for the Ocean, and Youth for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), representatives from over a dozen different governmental, United Nations, business and civil society organisations joined the lively discussions onboard.
Keynote speaker Ms Maisa Rojas, Minister for the Environment, reaffirmed Chile’s commitment to the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) for the conservation of marine biodiversity in international waters. Sub-Minister of Foreign Affairs also spoke, saying that Chile has protected over 40% of its ocean and supports further efforts for marine conservation in the region.
The event was a final highlight for participants in the Youth for the SDGs program, who had sailed onboard the ship as it travelled through the Antarctic region. Each of the 15 participants of the program shared with the audience their initiatives, experiences and desires for a sustainable ocean. As a key part of the program, Peace Boat showed its support to Chile in the application to host the Secretariat of the Agreement 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 Agreement), valuing Chile’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the ocean (SDG14 for Life Below Water). The non profit organization CODEFF also highlighted a joint campaign to declare Patagonia a World Heritage site recognized by UNESCO, and we will continue to work together towards conservation efforts.
The session ended with a networking space with the objective of generating more alliances and collaborations among the participating actors associated in one way or another to Ocean Sciences.
Thank you to our sponsors LATAM Airlines, the Mascarona Foundation and PVM Consulting for helping to make this event and related youth programmes possible!
