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With a new international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) on the horizon, now is the time to start laying the foundation for successful implementation. This paper provides some initial reflections for supporting rapid, effective, and equitable implementation of the BBNJ Agreement in three priority areas: (1) bringing the Agreement into force; (2) establishing the institutional framework, including financial mechanisms; and (3) developing capacity, science, and technology. With reference to selected examples from other international processes, the paper makes suggestions for encouraging wide ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, establishing a Preparatory Commission (PrepCom), mobilizing resources, and building partnerships to advance science and capacity. The growing impacts of climate change and human activities on the global ocean necessitate urgent action, so we must begin to work on the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement as soon as possible to secure ocean health for the benefit of present and future generations.

IOSC 2017 Abstract: 2017-269 Abstract The picture today is one of intense oil and gas activity across West, Central and Southern Africa. This is illustrated by the significant increases in crude oil exports over the past fifteen years. This high level of activity has also coincided with, and contributed to, a large increase in the level of shipping in the region. Such level of oil exploration, production, and transportation, means that there exists a threat of oil spills occurring. In response to this risk, the Global Initiative for West, Central, and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) was launched in 2006, with the objective of raising standards of oil spill preparedness and response capability across the region. This paper will describe how the GI WACAF Project cooperates with local stakeholders in order to develop trans-boundary cooperation, and will detail what are the challenges lying ahead in order to make cross-border cooperation fully operational. The analysis of the trans-boundary exercises organised under the umbrella of the GI WACAF Project between Cameroon and Nigeria (2015) on the one hand, and between Gabon and Congo (2015) on the other hand, emphasises the needs in terms of international cooperation, improved communications, integration of response capabilities at the national and regional levels, and the development of effective incident management structures. This paper will show that significant steps have been taken to develop National Oil Spill Contingency Plans across the GI WACAF region and that advances in this area have meant countries are now looking beyond their borders and seeking to integrate national contingency plans with their closest neighbours. Information will be presented concerning the 2015 exercises, the key lessons learned and potential developments of trans-boundary cooperation in the future.