Marine-related IUCN policy

The IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC), the biggest gathering of conservationists, is held every four years.

It was due to be held in Marseilles, France in June 2020 but was put on hold due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The more than 1400 IUCN Member organizations from 170 countries went ahead, however, and approved many Motions (after a four month electronic discussion period and an e-vote). These are now Resolutions (to the IUCN) and Recommendations (to other organizations and agencies) that guide policy for all Members. Voting on a few controversial or complicated marine Motions took place in person when the Congress finally went ahead in Marseilles, France in September 2021.

Listed below are the marine-related Resolutions that are now in effect.

IUCN MOTIONS ON MARINE-RELATED CONCERNS Approved as resolutions on 4 November 2020

• 014 - WCC-2020-Res-012-EN Aquatic biodiversity conservation of shallow marine and freshwater systems

• 015 - WCC-2020-Res-013-EN Supporting the Lower Mekong Basin countries with the transboundary management of water resources, ecosystems and biodiversity

• 019 - WCC-2020-Res-017-EN Protection of natural flows of water for the conservation of wetlands

• 020 - WCC-2020-Res-018-EN Valuing and protecting inland fisheries

• 022 - WCC-2020-Res-019-EN Stopping the global plastic pollution crisis in marine environments by 2030

• 023 - WCC-2020-Res-020-EN Protection of herbivorous fish for improved coral community

• 027 - WCC-2020-Res-023-EN Reducing impacts of incidental capture on threatened marine species

• 028 - WCC-2020-Res-024-EN For an improved management of drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs)

• 029 - WCC-2020-Res-025-EN Ecosystem conservation, restoration and remediation in the ocean

• 030 - WCC-2020-Res-026-EN International cooperation on marine pollution from sunken vessels

• 031 - WCC-2020-Res-027-EN Seascapes working for biodiversity conservation

• 032 - WCC-2020-Res-028-EN Updating of the legislation to stop the pollution of oceans caused by the discharging of wastewater by ships

• 033 - WCC-2020-Res-029-EN For the urgent global management of marine and coastal sand resources

• 035 - WCC-2020-Res-030-EN Enhancing the resilience of coastal areas in the face of climate change

• 036 - WCC-2020-Res-031-EN The implementation of nature-based solutions in the Mediterranean Basin

• 037 - WCC-2020-Res-032-EN Ocean impacts of climate change

• 041 - WCC-2020-Res-034-EN Ecological integrity in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

• 055 - WCC-2020-Res-045-EN Global Indigenous Network for Aquaculture (GINA)

• 066 - WCC-2020-Res-055-EN Guidance to identify industrial fishing incompatible with protected areas

• 071 - WCC-2020-Res-058-EN Safeguarding coral reefs from harmful chemicals in sunscreen

• 083 - WCC-2020-Res-069-EN Ban plastic bottles and related materials in protected areas

• 093 - WCC-2020-Res-078-EN Conservation, restoration and sustainable management and of mangrove ecosystems

• 097 - WCC-2020-Res-082-EN Reducing marine turtle bycatch: the important role of regulatory mechanisms in the global roll-out of Turtle Excluder Devices

• 107 - WCC-2020-Res-091-EN Global conservation of rhino rays (Rhinidae, Glaucostegidae, Rhinobatidae)

• 110 - WCC-2020-Res-094-EN Safeguarding the Endangered narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) off the Korean Peninsula

• 111 - WCC-2020-Res-095-EN Conservation of seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (family Syngnathidae)

• 114 - WCC-2020-Res-098-EN Saving the world’s otters

• 119 - WCC-2020-Res-102-EN Improving process and action to identify and recover “Extinct in the Wild” species

• 122 - WCC-2020-Res-105-EN Conserving and protecting coral reefs through the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

• 124 - WCC-2020-Res-107-EN Reducing the impact of fisheries on marine biodiversity

Marine MOTIONS Approved as Resolutions at the IUCN WCC congress in September 2021

• 021 - Planning of maritime areas and biodiversity conservation

• 024 - Restoring a peaceful and quiet ocean

• 034 - Climate change and biodiversity crisis

• 040 - Develop and implement a transformational and effective post-2020 global biodiversity framework

• 067 - Reducing the impact of the mining industry on biodiversity

• 069 - Protection of deep ocean ecosystems and biodiversity through a moratorium on seabed mining

• 101 - Setting area-based conservation targets based on evidence of what nature and people need to thrive

• 118 - Reinforcing the protection of marine mammals through regional cooperation

• 126 - Advancing conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in the ocean beyond national jurisdiction

• 132 - Controlling and monitoring trade in croaker swim bladders to protect target croakers and reduce incidental catches of threatened marine megafauna

Marine Resolutions accepted by the iucn congress in 2016

• WCC 2016 Res 017 - Actions to avert the extinction of the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus)

• WCC 2016 Res 021 - Monitoring and management of unselective, unsustainable and unmonitored (UUU) fisheries

• WCC 2016 Res 023 - Protection for serranids and syngnathids off the Spanish coast

• WCC 2016 Res 026 - Conservation of intertidal habitats and migratory waterbirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, especially in the Yellow Sea, in a global context

• WCC 2016 Res 032 - Achieving representative systems of protected areas in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

• WCC 2016 Res 048 - International biofouling

• WCC 2016 Res 049 - Promoting regional approaches to tackle the global problem of marine debris (litter)

• WCC 2016 Res 050 - Increasing marine protected area coverage for effective marine biodiversity conservation

• WCC 2016 Res 051 - Ecological connectivity on the north coast of the Alboran Sea

• WCC 2016 Res 053 - Protecting coastal and marine environments from mining waste

• WCC 2016 Res 054 - Protecting the world’s greatest salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska from large-scale mining

• WCC 2016 Res 055 - Concerns about whaling under special permits

• WCC 2016 Res 057 - Take greater account of the ocean in the climate regime

• WCC 2016 Res 065 - Community based natural resource managemtnin the state of Hawai’i

• WCC 2016 Res 091 - South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary

• WCC 2016 Rec 097 - Pacific region climate resiliency

• WCC 2016 Rec 099 - Promotion of Anguillid eels as flagship species for aquatic conservation

• WCC 2016 Rec 101 - Improving the conservation and management of the silky shark, the thresher sharks and mobula rays

• WCC 2016 Rec 106 - Cooperation for the conservation and protection of coral reefs worldwide

• WCC 2016 Rec 112 - Development of offshore renewable energy and biodiversity conservation

Banner photograph of Anthiase on coral in the Philippines by Nick Hill/Project Seahorse

[Updated May 2024]