The 22nd Large Marine Ecosystem and Coastal Partner Consultation Meeting (LME22; 11–13 July 2023, Paris, France) was a cornerstone event of the GEF IW:LEARN project, under the leadership of the IOC/UNESCO, the longstanding convener of the Large Marine Ecosystems (LME) Consultation Meetings.

The Consultation Meeting on LMEs and Coastal Partners contributed to the development of the LME Partnerships by engaging marine, coastal management, biodiversity and coastal climate change adaptation project leaders. It provided a global forum for GEF-funded and other marine and coastal practitioners, organizations and institutions, including Regional Seas organisations and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, international and national NGOs, government representatives, local and regional community leaders, aimed at sharing experiences and lessons with respect to ecosystem-based ocean governance and management.

More specifically, the objectives of LME22 were:  

• To reconnect LMEs and Coastal Partners after the LME21 meeting in 2019, to discuss progress, new challenges and opportunities that arose in the meantime;
• To further enhance LME process and partnerships;
• To review marine and coastal projects progress in regions, disseminating best practices, and discussing emerging issues requiring common responses;
• To consider recent ocean governance developments (e.g. Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD) & Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) etc.) and their implications for the LME partnerships;
• To advise on the further improvement of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis-Strategic Action Porgramme (TDA-SAP) process for LMEs and its “rebranding”;
• To promote Source-to-Sea collaboration by facilitating the participation of River Basin Organizations with the aim to strengthen the integrated management of transboundary marine and freshwater ecosystems;
• To assess the impact produced by the GEF International Waters (IW) portfolio in advancing the sustainable management of LMEs after 25 years of investments;
• To consolidate input to the Tenth International Waters Conference (IWC10) on sessions related to marine and coastal issues, the signature event of the GEF IW portfolio to be held in November 2023 in Uruguay;
• To revisit, update, and help implement the LME Community Medium Term Framework Strategy as well as contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

This meeting was by invitation only.

For further information, please contact Ms. Claudette Spiteri (claudette@iwlearn.org).