Distinguished Chair, Colleagues,
thank you for giving us the floor and to the panelists for their insightful remarks.
We cannot agree more on the critical importance of healthy marine environments and we firmly believe that effective ocean protection lies in strengthening the capacity of nations to manage their own marine environments sustainably, enacting marine spatial planning and area-based management, including marine protected areas, as well as to overcome fragmented governance.
We recognize the role of regional organizations, especially regional marine conventions, as key drivers of change. In the Mediterranean region with the support of our Mediterranean partners, we are addressing land-based pollution as well as pollution due to transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous waste. Not least among these is the Action Plan for the Management of Marine Litter, the first binding regional instrument on this issue.
At national level, we have officially initiated the ratification process for the BBNJ Agreement and are actively implementing measures to achieve the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
At UNOC 3, Italy presented 13 voluntary commitments for a total of 115 million euros aimed at providing financial and technical support, prioritizing the Mediterranean region, youth and Small Island Developing States.
I conclude my intervention by reaffirming Italy’s full support for the completion, next August in Geneva, of the ongoing negotiations for the definition of a legally binding international instrument on plastics, including those in the marine environment, which will complement rather than overlap with existing international and regional instruments on plastic pollution.
I thank you.
