Carl Ian John Hallazgo | Biology Department | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Astrid Sinco, the McKeough Marine Center (MMC) director and the Biology Department chairperson of Xavier Ateneo, was the lone representative of the Philippines among the 31 delegates chosen from 20 different countries to attend the United Nations World Ocean Assessment last December 13-15, 2022 at Sheraton Belitung Resort, Belitung, Indonesia.

The workshop on the “Scoping for the Next World Assessment of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects” attended by marine experts and researchers of the world focused on the discussion of ocean sustainability.

The agenda items of the event included the Global Reporting and Assessment of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects ; the Second World Ocean Assessment;  Concept Note of the regional workshops to guide the scoping process for the Assessment(s) of the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects; Collaboration for the Healthy Oceans through regional/global cooperation; Review of assessment and relevant projects and programs; Consideration of the regional processes and intergovernmental organizations that could contribute to the assessment(s) of the third cycle; and Consideration of what steps might be taken within the region in the period 2022 – 2025 to support contributions to the assessment(s) in the third cycle.

The presenters and coordinators of the meeting were the representatives of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS); the Indonesian government; the group of experts of the Regular Process; experts from the Archipelagic and Island State Forum (AIS Forum), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Pacific Islands Forum-Indonesia (PIF-Indonesia), Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA); and the representatives from archipelagic and island countries.

The Regular Process is the global mechanism established by the UN to regularly review the environmental, economic and social aspects of the state of the world’s oceans, both current and foreseeable, to strengthen the current scientific assessment of the state of the marine environment in order to enhance the scientific basis for policymaking. The first cycle of the Regular Process ran from 2010 to 2014 while the second cycle of the Regular Process ran from 2016 to 2020. The third cycle of the Regular Process covers the years 2021 to 2025.

WORLD'S MARINE EXPERTS AND RESEARCHERS IN ACTION. The representatives of various countries take part in the workshop to determine the current state of the world's oceans. Dr. Sinco (the one with face mask) strikes a pose. Photo by Astrid Sinco.

WORLD OCEAN ASSESSMENT PARTICIPANTS. The world's ocean experts and researchers pose for a photo opportunity. Photo by Astrid Sinco.

WORLD'S MARINE EXPERTS AND RESEARCHERS. Some of the world's experts and researchers pose for a photo. Photo by Astrid Sinco.