CCAMLR

The MPA Special Fund was established in 2005 to support activities undertaken in respect of MPAs. Given recent progress by CCAMLR towards the development of MPAs, it is now timely to review the purpose of the Fund, and to update the terms of reference and practical guidance for how it is accessed and used. This paper makes recommendations on the following updates for consideration by the Scientific Committee:

i)    Terms of Reference for use of the MPA Special Fund

ii)    Guidelines on submission and review of proposals for use of the MPA Special Fund

iii)    Terms of Reference for the MPA Special Fund Correspondence Group

A draft conservation measure for an East Antarctic Marine Protected Area (EAMPA) has been under consideration by the Commission since 2012. This paper presents a revised conservation measure articulating changes, including feedback provided by members, which continue to improve the proposal. The paper provides greater clarity on the proposal by explaining how existing conservation measures create zones within the proposed EAMPA where different activities can occur, and includes supporting explanatory material. The conservation measure for an East Antarctic MPA, at Attachment A, is recommended for adoption.

During discussions on the Ross Sea region marine protected area (RSRMPA) at CCAMLR XXXV in October 2016, it was noted that the implementation of Conservation Measure (CM) 91-05 would require revisions to a number of existing CMs (see paragraph 8.39 of the report of CCAMLR XXXV).  CM 91-05 itself contains an obligation to revise CMs 41-09 and 41-10 (see paragraph 28 of CM 91-05).

We describe the proposed changes in part 1 of this paper, with an explanation of each revision.  Part 2 of this paper contains copies of all of the relevant CMs with changes edit-tracked, taken from the Schedule of Conservation Measures in Force 2016/17.

New Zealand and the United States recommend that the Commission adopt the proposed changes at its 2017 meeting.