SCELG was at the CBD COP in Sharm El-Sheikh (17-29 November 2018) (UPDATE)

Overview of Activities of SCELG and the BENELEX Project at the UN Biodiversity Conference

January 2019: SCELG and the BENELEX Project participated in the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. SCELG PhD Researcher and BeneLex researcher Mika Schröder and SCELG’s Daniela Diz, researcher of the Marine Benefits Project and Benelex, as well as program director of the LLM Law of the Sea, Sustainable Development and International Law, attended various events and shared recent research findings.

BeneLex Events at CBD COP 14

SCELG PhD Researcher and BeneLex researcher Mika Schröder presented key research findings from the BeneLex Project at a side-event ‘Rethinking Biodiversity Governance: ingredients for the post-2020 global plan for biodiversity’ (25 November 2018) and at two sessions of the Rio Pavilion ‘Human Rights and Biodiversity: How to design the Post-2020 Governance System’ and ‘Besides governments – the future of biodiversity governance for civil society’ (21 November 2018). As reported by the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, she drew attention to the 2018 UN Framework Principles developed by the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment. She highlighted how UN Framework Principle 15, which requires States to comply with their obligations to IPLCs, can help determine the parameters of fairness and equity of benefit-sharing under the CBD. She further noted that international biodiversity law can provide specific guidance for the adoption of best practices for impact assessment and for the full realisation of human rights, through the Akwé: Kon Guidelines and the CBD Convention article 8(j) and article 10." Mika also presented an analysis of participation within CBD COP decisions. She emphasised the importance of communicating the need for local stakeholder participation, empowering stakeholders, and holding states accountable to ensure participation.

Other Events at CBD COP 14

Daniela Diz participated in the following events: ‘Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogues with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fisheries Bodies to accelerate progress for achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Key Outcomes’ and ‘Sustainable Ocean Day’.

Other Events at COP MOP 8 on the Cartagena Protocol

The Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety took place at the same time as the CBD COP.

SCELG recently concluded a two-part consultancy for the development of online tools for the mainstreaming of biosafety. The e-learning modules were presented during the COP MOP by the CBD Secretariat at the session: ‘Capacity building for mainstreaming biosafety: integrated implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol Liability and Redress and the Convention on Biological Diversity’

Practice-led Teaching

Experts on biodiversity are part of our SCELG team and use their research to educate our students on the LLM in Global Environmental Law and Governance. Daniela Diz is program director of the LLM Law of the Sea, Sustainable Development and International Law.

All post graduate teaching programmes hosted by SCELG are based on policy-relevant research and postgraduate students have an opportunity to contribute to consultancy projects with leading international partners and UN bodies. Find out more about our continuous partnership with the Secretariat to the CBD.