SARGADOM

'SARGADOM' combines the names of the project's two focus sites - the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic and the Thermal Dome in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. This project is financed by the Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM). The Sargasso Sea Commission will recieve €961,000 from the FFEM grant over five years, and will work closely with the other project partners - Mar Viva, Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), and Office Français pour la Biodiversité (OFB).

The Thermal Dome in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) and the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic are the two initiatives that are emerging as pilot cases at the global level aimed at developing new hybrid governance approaches, i.e. modes of governance that combine a regional approach and a global approach on the high seas.

The objective of the project is to contribute to the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the high seas on the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea. It will incorporate and contribute to the elements of the UN negotiations on BBNJ by informing on possible implementation models for regional and international/global coordination, consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements and as part of a strategy based on an ecosystem approach.

The strategy proposed by the project is to develop a DPSIR (driving force-pressure-state-impact-response) analysis in each site, followed by a synthesis, analysis of governance, and then a set of conclusions that will lead to proposals to improve the governance of these sites. These results will help inform future agreements on the BBNJ and other high seas areas wishing to designate ABMTs including MPAs. The knowledge gained will also support the development of agreements and action plans for the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea.

Project Documents 

Logical framework and chronogram [English]

Second Steering Committee Meeting

The SARGADOM held its second steering committee meeting at Villa Caletas hotel in Costa Rica on October 17th. 

Thie meeting vlidated the first year annual report for the project, and offered an opportunity for discussion of the project outputs. In addition, a component 2 data meeting was held at the same venue on the 17th and 18th of October, and a component 4 communications meeting took place on October 19th.

Kick Off

The FFEM project kick off event was held on the 26th of August, 2021. It drew 45 participants from a wide range of countries and organisations. Useful documents related to the event can be found below:

Agenda [English]

Presentations

The Sargasso Sea by David Freestone (Sargasso Sea Commission Executive Secretary)

The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) Framework by Laurence Kell (Imperial College)

Preparatory data discovery and analysis to support enhanced management and governance of the Sargasso Sea & Costa Rica Thermal Dome by Pat Halpin (Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment & Duke Marine Lab)

IUCN World Conservation Congress Marseille

IUCN WCC Ocean and Islands Pavilion side event [video]

 On the 6th of September 2021, the Sargasso Sea Commission gave video presentations as part of the IUCN World Conservation Congress. The Ocean and Islands Pavilion side event was sponsored by the French government, and was designed to highlight the importance of high seas systems, and in particular the recent grant awarded by the Fonds français pour l'environnement mondial (FFEM) under the title 'Contributing to hybrid governance to protect and manage remarkable areas on the high seas: Tropical East Pacific and Northwest Atlantic Oceans'. This project will focus on two representative areas - the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea.

Sargasso Sea Ecosystem - Fae Sapsford

Sargasso Sea Commission Governance - David Freestone