20 Years of LME Consultative Committee Meetings – A Look Back Dr. Ned Cyr NOAA

1998 – 2003: In the Beginning 1998 meeting started with a retrospective from Monaco LME Committee Meeting (1991) IOC, NOAA, IUCN sponsors Methods for monitoring and assessments at the LME scale GEF-funded LME projects start coming on line (GCLME, YSLME, BCLME, BLME) Innovative approaches to transboundary science and governance at the LME scale From LME CC I (1998): “IUCN in collaboration with NOAA, IOC, and UNIDO should disseminate LME information more widely using the “World Wide Web” as one of the delivery mechanisms.”

2004 – 2013: The Community Evolves More partners at the table: NOAA, IOC, IUCN, UNEP, FAO, UNDP . . . More GEF-funded LME projects in development Focus on innovative approaches to transboundary ecosystem science and governance at multiple scales Linkages to international and intergovernmental programs expands, e.g., GOOS, GEOSS, Assessment of Assessments, GESAMP, GloBallast, TWAP, etc. Regional caucus concept emerges

2014 – 2018: Towards a Sustainable Community Even more partners: NOAA, IOC, IUCN, UNDP, GEF, ICES . . . 2014 - Concept Note published to establish the committee’s purpose in the LME community of practice Foster a mutually supportive global network of leaders and institutions engaged in marine and coastal EBM Mobilize knowledge resources, new scientific applications and tools Review marine and coastal project progress, disseminate best practices, discuss emerging issues Share lessons learned from existing efforts IOC is the recognized lead executing agency LME: Learn becomes an operational focal point

2018 onward: Where to Now? De facto international and interagency ecosystem community meeting Increasing integration with coastal and freshwater projects, GEF and others, at multiple scales Relevance to global ocean goals, e.g., SDG 14, BBNJ process, Aichi targets, blue economy, etc. Relationship of the LME Consultative Committee to LME:Learn? Where do we want to be in 10 years?

Questions for the Panel Is the Annual LME Consultative Meeting as currently defined still relevant? Are any changes needed to the current structure and focus? Does the meeting provide the right forum for LME projects to document and share progress with each other, and other related projects (e.g., ICM, MPA) including strengthening regional ocean governance? Should there be more effort to ensure participation of project country focal points? How will these meetings be sustained at the end of the GEF LME:LEARN project?