| | OSPAR’s Biodiversity Committee (BDC) met in snowy Oslo from 18-22 March 2024
The recent meeting, under the guidance of Nina Schroeder (Germany), discussed progress made in implementing biodiversity tasks within OSPAR’s North-East Atlantic Environment Strategy (NEAES) 2030. Noteworthy reports were welcomed, addressing critical issues such as barriers to Marine Protected Area (MPA) management, large whale protection, and eel grass restoration. The meeting recommended these reports for publication, marking the culmination of several NEAES tasks.
BDC's objectives, though ambitious, are crucial for combating the decline in biodiversity highlighted in OSPAR's Quality Status Report (QSR) 2023. The meeting explored potential deliverables for the ministerial meeting and discussed ways to secure additional resources to achieve OSPAR's strategic objectives, particularly in biodiversity preservation and habitat restoration.
Strategic objective 5. Protect and conserve marine biodiversity, ecosystems and their services to achieve good status of species and habitats, and thereby maintain and strengthen ecosystem resilience; and
Strategic objective 6. Restore degraded habitats in the North-East Atlantic when practicable to safeguard their ecosystem function and resilience to climate change and ocean acidification.
The meeting also addressed progress in developing the OSPAR Bird Regional Action Plan (RAP), responding to recent assessments revealing challenges faced by marine birds in the North-East Atlantic. Agreement was reached on the text of the Bird RAP, with commitments made to implement nearly half of its tasks. However, further support from the OSPAR community is deemed necessary to address underlying pressures affecting marine birds.
In a related discussion, a draft Recommendation and Background Document on reducing marine bird bycatch in the OSPAR Maritime Area were examined. The Recommendation encourages Contracting Parties to develop national action plans for marine bird protection and collaborate to build evidence on marine bird bycatch. Drafting groups made significant strides in finalising the text, which will undergo legal review before discussion at OSPAR’s Heads of Delegation.
Furthermore, BDC considered OSPAR actions outlined by the Arctic Outcome Working Group as part of the 2022-2025 Arctic Outcomes Roadmap and OSPAR’s commitment to safeguard the Arctic marine environment. Recommendations were made regarding prioritisation of actions from a biodiversity perspective and the importance of collaborating with international organisations, including the Arctic Council.
The meeting also saw the adoption of a new common indicator for benthic habitats, the "Area of Habitat Loss" indicator, to be applied in Region II (excluding Norwegian waters) for the next OSPAR Assessment. This brings the tally of common indicators under BDC to 20.
Lastly, BDC expressed gratitude to Richard Emmerson (Sweden) for his service as co-convenor of OSPAR’s group on biodiversity monitoring and assessment (ICG-COBAM) and welcomed Jos Schilder (Netherlands) to continue the group's vital work alongside Ian Mitchell (United Kingdom). | | | | | |  | | Watch our biodiversity experts on YouTube! | | 
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