Experts gathered in Sanya, on China's Hainan Island, to press for practical steps to protect marine life beyond national borders. The side event, held on November 8 at the CMG Sanya Studio as part of the 7th Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, brought together more than ten Chinese and international participants to discuss how the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, known as BBNJ, should be carried out.
The BBNJ agreement covers marine biodiversity in areas outside any single country's jurisdiction, which make up most of the world's open ocean. It entered into force in January this year, and speakers at the forum described it as a landmark step toward multilateral ocean governance. The discussion focused less on the treaty's principles than on the work needed to turn them into everyday cooperation.
Jiao Nianzhi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences described marine biodiversity as a toolbox for humanity, a resource that supports medicine, food and climate resilience and that should be understood before it is lost. Aileen Tan of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission's Western Pacific office called for closer cooperation among scientists, pointing to joint research between Malaysia and China as an example of what regional partnerships can achieve. Ronán Long of the World Maritime University argued that China's capacity to collect and share ocean data could help speed up the benefit-sharing provisions of the agreement.
The forum also featured the release of a report titled Southeast Asian Youth Perceptions of Maritime Issues, prepared by units of China Media Group. The survey covers young people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they were willing to take part in ocean-focused youth exchanges between China and ASEAN countries, and many said they wanted China to play a larger role in global ocean governance.
The side event was co-hosted by China Media Group, the Huayang Center and the National Institute for South China Sea Studies. The material comes from the organizers' own announcement, and the survey's sample has not been independently verified.