The world oceans assessment
BY A.C. ALCALA

The first assessment of the world’s oceans is due for submission to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. This assessment report is very comprehensive, covering practically all aspects of ocean studies, including socio-economic aspects.

Within the next two years, workshops will be conducted by the States and regional ocean organizations to assemble and validate assessment studies on, and build capacity for assessing, some eight or ten bodies of marine waters in the world. The Group of 20 Experts representing the various oceans is working hard to meet this deadline.

The Group of Experts working with two Coordinators have come up with a comprehensive outline of the Report composed of about 45 chapters dealing with various subjects having to do with oceans and their status and uses and how they can be managed to deliver human services sustainably.

Aside from the Group of Experts, there are so many other experts who will serve as editors, critics, consulters, evaluators, and reviewers to ensure that the report is legitimate, authoritative, and credible. The various States are involved in the process of producing the document. This implies that governance, which is political in nature, is given an important role in the making of the document.

What is important is that whatever comes out in the process of making the assessment called the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects has the approval and imprimatur of maritime countries, the stakeholders.

From the scientific point of view, maritime nations should be happy about the assessment because this is the opportunity to know the status of the oceans around them as validated by experts not only of a particular country but also from other countries. There is also an opportunity to learn about other adjacent oceans through cross-assessment and to apply good management practices being implemented in those ocean areas.

This is one of the reasons why I am urging the government of the Philippines to take active involvement in the process of bringing together all assessment studies done in the Philippines, of which there are many. This is the time to validate the past projects and programs done on coastal areas and high seas that include assessment of the status of the four bodies of oceanic waters surrounding the Philippines in addition to the internal seas that separate the various islands and islets of the country.

It is unfortunate to note, however, that our authorities seem not to notice the importance and the implications of the UN Regular Process; the Department of Foreign Affairs and other executive departments seem not to be concerned with this global effort. At least I am not aware of workshops involving those concerned with the marine environment being organized and held for the purpose of collating and validating reports and published papers on marine assessments. In fact, I know that the Group of Experts has been asking States to hold workshops to improve the capacity to assess our marine environment and resources.

There is not much time left between now and 2014, and I am urging the executive departments to participate in the making of the first global assessment of the Philippine marine environment.*