FCT supports organization of United Nations Workshop

Between September 25 and 27, Portugal hosted the Regional Workshop for the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea region as part of the third cycle of the United Nations (UN) Regular Process for the Global Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including socio-economic aspects. Co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the UN, with the support of FCT and the Oceano Azul Foundation, this is the fourth regional workshop on this topic.

Bringing together around 40 scientific experts from the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea regions, the work focused on the report that will be produced as part of the Regular Process, the World Ocean Assessment III (WOAIII). This document includes potential "Sustainability Pathways" for a sustainable and inclusive ocean economy, also focusing on cross-cutting issues such as equity, gender and the importance of the traditional knowledge of local and indigenous communities. Portugal was represented by six experts, one from the "Group of Experts" and five from the "Pool of Experts", as well as collaborators from FCT, the MNE and the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy (DGPM). The reflections of each group were presented in the plenary sessions by the experts who made up each of the groups. A summary of the workshop will soon be available on the Regular Process website.

The Regular Process was established by the UN in 2002 and aims to help strengthen the regular scientific assessment of the marine environment in order to improve the scientific basis for marine and maritime policy decisions. This is the only global assessment of the state of the marine environment, including socio-economic aspects, with the seal of approval of the UN. It is an important scientific contribution, particularly in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. FCT is the National Focal Point for the Regular Process together with the MNE, in a process that at national level also involves the DGPM.