Coral Triangle Initiative | Secretariat

Different positions of developed and developing countries on marine adaptation funds, transfer of technology and the urgency of ocean issues, at United Nations climate talks, have hampered the World Ocean Conference’s (WOC) drive for a united declaration at ministerial level.

The WOC’s Senior Official Meeting failed to agree on key articles in the original draft declaration proposed by developing countries, including Indonesia, after the negotiations were extended by a few hours Tuesday evening.

“We agree to submit the results of the negotiation to the ministerial meeting Thursday. The ministers will negotiate further on the declaration,” said conference chairman Eddy Pratomo of Indonesia.

He added that the failure to agree on the Manado Ocean Declaration stemmed from sharp divisions over certain issues between developed and developing countries, forcing representatives from both sides to go outside the main room to conduct separate and intensive lobbying.

“We’ve had to soften the language in some articles,” Eddy said.

The original draft asked the Adaptation Fund Board of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to “consider including the provision of funding for integrated coastal and ocean management in the context of climate change”.

On the transfer of technology, the draft stresses the need to promote transfer of technology from developed to developing countries.

The draft also asked for the inclusion of ocean issues at the UNFCCC talks in Copenhagen in
December.

An official involved in the negotiations said most developed countries wanted the articles scaled back or even struck off the declaration.

Observers say developed countries fear that the inclusion of such articles would bind them legally to a financial obligation toward developing countries.

Earlier, Mary M. Glackin, the head of the US delegation, acknowledged the key role oceans play in the climate system.

“In the climate system, the oceans store heat on the planet and hold it for a long time, and also we’ve known for a long time that the ocean is absorbing carbon. It has taken about 25 percent of the carbon,” she said.

However, she refused to say whether the US would support the push for ocean issues at the UN talks or agree on a special financing scheme proposed for the oceans as sugested.