INTERNATIONAL WATERS LEARNING EXCHANGE & RESOURCE NETWORK

IW:LEARN

Global dialogue participation

Through the communication of results to stakeholders at global and regional LME communities of practice (LME/COPs), the LME:LEARN coordination team aims to increase awareness of LME management and governance related issues and trigger engagement in networks.

LME:LEARN also informs global policy discussions including Sustainable Development Goals for coastal and ocean areas meetings, the Global Ocean Forum, ICES Science Conferences, COFI and IMO sessions, as well as intergovernmental meetings of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Seabed Authority.

IOC-LME Annual Meetings are major examples of events that contribute to the development of the LME Partnership by engaging marine, coastal management, biodiversity and coastal climate change adaptation project leaders in meeting that objective. More specifically, the meeting aims at:

  • Fostering a mutually supportive global network of leaders and institutions engaged in marine and coastal ecosystem based management by providing a forum for discussions on experiences and lessons learned;
  • Mobilizing knowledge resources, new scientific applications and tools to support project implementation and organizational action related to priority knowledge topics;
  • Reviewing marine and coastal project progress in regions, disseminating best practices amongst projects, and discussing emerging issues requiring common responses; and
  • Sharing lessons learned from existing efforts with regard to the LME Governance project priorities (i.e. regional networks, capacity building training and twinning) and identify future priorities to help guide the implementation of the project.

The meetings also provide an opportunity to discuss the contribution of GEF and other marine projects to the implementation of the Agenda 2030, particularly SDG 14 as well as other SDGs. LME:LEARN has developed a Brochure entitled The Large Marine Ecosystem Approach Can Be the Engine for Achieving SDG 14.