Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net)

　Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net), based on the discussions at the 1st and 2nd General Meeting and some proposals thereafter, is currently focusing on 9 projects. The Secretariat would like to invite all the Partners who are willing to participate in or cooperate to them to express their interests. If you are interested in one or more of the 9 projects, the summaries of which can be seen below, or would like to inquire on them, please send an e-mail with 1) Name, 2) Affiliation, 3) Contact, and 4) the Project number(s) to y-murakami■spf.or.jp (Please change ■ to @). Your interests will be communicated to the contact points for each project.











　We appreciate your new innovative proposals at any time!!

【Contact persons】
　Dr. Keita Furukawa, Senior Research Fellow
　Mr. Yuhei Murakami, Research Fellow
　The Ocean Policy Research Institute,
　Sasakawa Peace Foundation
　The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building 6F,
　1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524, Japan
　Tel: +81-3-5157-5210
　E-mail: y-murakami■spf.or.jp (■→＠)

　The Ocean Policy Research Institute, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), as the Secretariat of the Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net), has been developing and promoting various projects in collaboration with the Partners, based on the outcomes of the 1st and 2nd General Meeting held in May 2015 and December 2016, respectively. In addition to the specific project-related activities, OPRI-SPF attends international conferences relating to ocean governance and avails itself of various opportunities to make IO Net widely known and its activities supported by stakeholders. Below we would like to report our activities at the UN Ocean Conference held 5-9 June, 2017.

　The UN Ocean Conference was held for the purpose of discussing specific actions necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” that had been adopted together with the other 16 Goals at the UN General Assembly in September 2015.

　The participating countries and organizations unanimously agreed to the “Call for Action” to reverse the decline in the health of our ocean at this Conference. The list of more than 1,300 voluntary commitments was attached to this document and shared among the participants as efforts to conserve and manage the oceans all around the world.


　IO Net has been registered in the voluntary commitments to contribute to the achievement of SDG 14. OPRI-SPF, as the Secretariat of the IO Net, introduced the activities under the IO Net at the Partnership Dialogue #7 “Enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”. It also co-organized a side-event “Addressing Oceans and Climate and Building the Blue Economy: Essential to SDG 14 Implementation” and emphasized the importance of the efforts by the IO Net Partners.



　Based on the outcomes of this Conference, OPRI-SPF will strengthen collaboration with the Partners of the IO Net, and aim at better conservation and management of Islands and their surrounding ocean areas. We appreciate very much further support and cooperation by all the Partners.

　If you have an interest in becoming a Partner of the IO Net, please feel free to send an e-mail to the contact point below.

【Contact persons】
　Dr. Keita Furukawa, Senior Research Fellow
　Mr. Yuhei Murakami, Research Fellow
　The Ocean Policy Research Institute,
　Sasakawa Peace Foundation
　The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building 6F,
　1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524, Japan
　Tel: +81-3-5157-5210
　E-mail: y-murakami■spf.or.jp (■→＠)

　The Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net) invites all Partners to attend its 2nd General Meeting on 6th and 7th December in Tokyo, Japan. Established during the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS 2014), the IO Net is an international collaborative network between organizations and individuals (called “Partners”) who support the joint international policy recommendation “For the Better Conservation and Management of Islands and Their Surrounding Ocean Areas.” This recommendation was submitted by OPRI and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), in cooperation with the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS), the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission /Pacific Community (SOPAC/SPC), and other technical partners.

　More than 190 participants, including 14 Pacific island States as well as international organizations, attended the 1st General Meeting held in May 2015 in Tokyo, where they shared ideas for the launch of specific projects. The 2nd General Meeting will focus on developing and materializing projects from the outcome of these previous discussions, through the further sharing of ideas and information. There will also be a discussion on strategies for the future development of the IO Net.

　Those who are interested in participating in the 2nd General Meeting, please take this opportunity to join the IO Net. And if you have interests or questions for IO Net, please refer to OPRI official website or contact following address.

【Contact persons】
　Dr. Keita Furukawa, Senior Research Fellow
　Mr. Yuhei Murakami, Research Fellow
　The Ocean Policy Research Institute,
　Sasakawa Peace Foundation
　The Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building 6F,
　1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524, Japan
　Tel: +81-3-5157-5210
　E-mail: y-murakami■spf.or.jp (■→＠)

IO Net Secretariat is pleased to present the report of the IO Net 1st General Meeting Meeting summary rev.4.docx. We invite the expression of interests to any of the proposed activities listed in Annex III and/or the submission of a new proposal in line with the attached format IO Net proposal format rev.5.docx. We also invite the submission of the response to the attached questionnaire IO Net application.questionnaire.docx if the Partner organizations have not yet done so. We will update you furhter development. Please contact IO Net Secretariat at ionet@spf.or.jp.

　　　　　　　　Opening Ceremony


Opening remarks by Mr. Hiroshi Terashima President, OPRI, SPF


Opening remarks by Prof. Toshiyuki Hibiya Director, University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance and Professor, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science


Opening remarks 【Video message】 by Prof. Stuart Kaye Director, ANCORS, University of Wollongong


Keynote speech by Mr. Yohei Sasakawa Chairman, The Nippon Foundation


Guest remarks by Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan


Guest remarks by H.E. Mr. Anote Tong President, the Republic of Kiribati


　　　　Group Photo after Opening Ceremony
(From left Prof. Hajime Kayanne, Prof. Alistair McIlgorm, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, H.E. Mr. Anote Tong, Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane)


Session2-1(1)“Conservation and Management of Islands – Development and Implementation of Management Strategies”


Session2-1(2) “Conservation and Management of Islands – Coral Reef, Mangrove and Ecosystem Conservation”


　　　　　　Group Photograph on Day 2

Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net) 1st General Meeting
Outcome Highlights outcome highlights.docx

Islands and Oceans Net Secretariat
Ocean Policy Research Institute

Ocean Policy Research Institute, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI, SPF) organized the Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net) 1st General Meeting with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong and the University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance at the Ito International Research Center, University of Tokyo from 25 – 26 May 2015.

IO Net is an international collaborative network for the organisations and individuals (called “Partners”) who support the Joint Policy Recommendations “For the Better Conservation and Management of Islands and Their Surrounding Ocean Areas” and collaborate and cooperate on a voluntary basis to implement it

190 participants including 27 from overseas attended the IO Net 1st General Meeting. At the opening session, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, President, OPRI, SPF which serves as IO Net Secretariat underlined that the IO Net is an international collaborative network for the organisations and individuals that collaborate on a voluntary basis to promote the better conservation and management of islands and their surrounding oceans, and stated that this meeting was intended to facilitate the development of concrete projects to implement the Joint Policy Recommendations. Prof. Stuart Kaye, Director, ANCORS stated in his video message that he welcomed the launching and the operationalization of the IO Net. Prof. Toshiyuki Hibiya, Director, University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance affirmed his determination that the University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance will carry out advanced academic research and play a proactive role in promoting sustainability in the Pacific island countries.

Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman, The Nippon Foundation stated in his keynote speech that the alarming phenomena that threaten human existence have emerged in the ocean and been progressing silently and steadily and the time has come now for establishing an international organization that addresses ocean issues comprehensively. As an honourable guest, H.E. Mr. Anote Tong, President, the Republic of Kiribati stated that the Pacific island countries have been greatly affected by climate change and variability and the fate of the island countries hinges upon the collaboration of international community and expressed his expectation to the activities to be carried out under the IO Net. Honourable Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane, Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan welcomed the undertaking of the IO Net that can forge the close long term relationship between Japan and the Pacific island countries.

At this Meeting, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, President, OPRI, SPF, Prof. Alistair McIlgorm, Capacity Development Coordinator, ANCORS and Mr. David Sheppard, Director-General, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) presided the Meeting as Co-Chairs.

At the sessions, the participants had fruitful discussions on the challenges faced by the small island countries and the proposed future activities based on the presentations made by the participants from the Pacific island countries, Japan and international organisations under the agenda of the conservation and management of islands, management of islands’ surrounding oceans, responses to climate change and variability, and capacity development and institutional strengthening.

At the wrap-up session, the participants discussed the launching of concrete projects under the operational guidelines of the IO Net and affirmed the direction of future activities. They have also confirmed that the interested partners of IO Net will discuss and materialize various project proposals for their implementation and the IO Net Secretariat (OPRI, SPF) support partners to develop and implement the projects through collecting and sharing of related information and making and circulating a list of proposed projects.

The Meeting was a great success and highly fruitful as many participants have attested their enthusiasm and commitment to promote international collaboration for undertaking the proposed activities to implement our Joint Policy Recommendations “For the Better Conservation and Management of Island and Their Surrounding Ocean Areas”. The co-organisers would like to cordially express appreciation to those who attended and supported the Meeting and ask for continuous support to future activities of IO Net.


Further details of the future activities for the IO Net will be posted at https://blog.canpan.info/ionet-jpn. Please address any further inquiry to the IO Net Secretariat (ionet@spf.or.jp、Dr. Keita Furukawa, Senior Researcher k-furukawa@spf.or.jp and Mr. Masanori Kobayashi, Researcher, m-kobayashi@spf.or.jp、Ocean Policy Research Institute, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation)

On-line registration for the Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net) 1st General Meeting to be held at the Ito Academic Research Center, University of Tokyo from 25 - 26 May 2015 is now closed. On-site registration is still possible. If you have not yet done the advanced on-line registration, please register at the registration desk at the Ito Academic Research Center, University of Tokyo during the 1st General Meeting.

Please click here program general meeting rev.7.doc(as of 20 May) to obtain the programme of the Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net) 1st General Meeting to be held from 25 - 26 May 2015. The programme is subject to partial changes.

Announcement of the IO Net 1st General Meeting

The IO Net 1st General Meeting will be held at the Ito International Research Center, University of Tokyo from 25 – 26 May 2015. Please refer to the section below for further details.


The First General Meeting of IO Net will be held at the Ito International Research Center, University of Tokyo from 25 – 26 May 2015 for the first time where the organisations and individuals that support the promotion of sustainable development of small island developing countries and sustainable management of their surrounding ocean areas.

It is pleasure to announce the convening of the Meeting and encourage the organisations and individuals interested in the achievement of the Joint Policy Recommendations “For the Better Conservation and Management of Islands and Their Surrounding Ocean Areas” to attend this Meeting towards promoting the conservation and sustainable development of islands and their surrounding ocean areas.

We ask those who are interested in attending the Meeting to fill out the IO Net application form (attached to the previous article) and the General Meeting application form (attached below) and submit them to ionet@spf.or.jp. To attend the General Meeting, we ask you in principle to state your intent to join IO Net and, if possible, fill out the latter part of the questionnaire attached to the IO Net application. We will update you on further details.

We also call for project proposals on measures and technologies applicable and conducive to sustainable development of small island developing states and management of surrounding ocean areas. We encourage you to submit proposals. We ask you to submit the title and the description of your suggested project with the 100 – 200 words. There is a chance that we may contact and ask you to make presentations as a part of the Meeting program.

＜Inquiry＞
Regarding the details of “Islands and Oceans Net (IO Net)”, please contact Dr. Keita Furukawa, Senior Researcher or Mr. Masanori Kobayashi, Research Fellow at ionet@spf.or.jp.

Contact:
Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Address: Toranomon 35 Mori Bldg, 3-4-10
Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
105-0001 Japan
Tel: 81-3-5404-6855
Fax: 81-3-5404-6810

Attachment
General Meeting application.docx