Updates on the ABNJ Deep Seas Project and the marine Component of Proteus

ATLAS work package 6 presentation at ATLAS 3rd General Assembly

Updates on two projects of relevance to the ATLAS Project will be provided: The GEF-funded Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) Deep Seas Project, and the marine component of Proteus.
Working primarily with regional organisations responsible for the management of deep-sea fisheries and Regional Seas Programmes, the ABNJ Deep Seas Project aims to support ways of improving the conservation of marine biodiversity and sustainability of deep sea fisheries so that ecosystems in ABNJ can continue to provide economic, social and environmental benefits to everyone, now and in the future. The Project seeks a better understanding of the different demands placed upon deep sea ecosystems in ABNJ by exploring which area-based planning tools are most likely to be effective. Here, we provide updates on a various deliverables of this Project, including case studies, a national data inventory and a regional capacity assessment. Through the Proteus Partnership, UNEP-WCMC has led work on improving the accessibility and visibility of marine and coastal datasets for decision-makers. It is hoped that these efforts will also contribute to improving data gaps in ABNJ.
Under the marine component of Proteus, the Ocean+ Initiative was recently launched. Reliable data on marine and coastal ecosystems lie at the heart of informed decision-making that sustains marine biodiversity, yet these data are often fragmented and difficult to access, with ever-shifting baselines of knowledge. The Ocean+ initiative therefore aims to contribute to a step-change in global access to, and use of, ocean and coastal biodiversity information and spatial data to support the transition to a healthy ocean. Under this new initiative, Ocean+ Data, an online library of ocean and coastal resources, has recently been launched. Ocean+ Data contains global datasets that were listed in the regional data manuals published under the ABNJ project in 2017. This will be followed by the launch of Ocean+ Habitat Atlas, the first authoritative resource on the known extent of ocean habitats globally—including seagrasses, warm- and cold-water corals, mangroves and saltmarshes. Here, we show how these efforts will help move the conservation agenda forward by tracking progress towards global targets, such as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Sustainable Development Goals, and helping to prioritise areas for capacity development and management.