Two High-Level Informal Ministerial Roundtable sessions at the Third Global Conference brought together high-level government representatives to share their perspectives on the global oceans agenda in separate informal sessions. The Informal Roundtables aimed to foster the development, in the long-run, of a High-Level Government Leaders Oceans Roundtable, that could meet periodically to further the development of strategic and cross-cutting approaches to enhancing oceans governance at global, regional, and national levels.

Roundtable Participants

Ministers, deputy and vice ministers:

Croatia Hon. Mr. Zoran Sikic Assistant Minister and Chief of Conservation Ministry of Culture	South Africa Hon. Mrs. Rejoice Mabudafhasi Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Kenya Hon. Mr. Joseph Konzolo Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development	Tanzania Hon. Ms. Ragma Mshangarna Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Cooperatives
Mozambique Hon. Mr. Victor Manuel Borges Deputy Minister of Fisheries	Vietnam Hon. Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang Vice Minister of Fisheries

High Level Government and Intergovernmental Administrators:

Brazil Mr. Rudolf Noronha Director of the Ministry of the Environment	Ramsar Convention Mr. Peter Bridgewater Secretary-General, Ramsar Convention
Canada Ms. Lori Ridgeway Director-General, International Coordination and Policy Analysis Department of Fisheries and Oceans	Sao Tome e Principe Mr. Celestino Andrade Director of Ports Enaport
Chile Mr. Fernando Almuna Undersecretary of Navy	Seychelles Mr. Rolph Payet Director of the Ministry of the Environment
European Commission Mr. Paul Nemitz Deputy Head of the Maritime Task Force	Tanzania Mr. Magnus Ngoile Director-General of the National Environment Management Council
Iceland Mr. Magnus Johannesson Secretary-General, Ministry for the Environment	Tuvalu Mr. Enele Sopoaga Ambassador of Tuvalu to the United Nations
Kenya Ms. Rachel Omano Ambassador of Kenya	United States Mr. William Brennan Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, NOAA
NEPAD Mr. Ali Mohammed Regional Coordinator, Coastal and Marine Secretariat

Roundtable facilitators:

Dr. Veerle Vandeweerd, Head, Regional, Seas Programme, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and coordinator, Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, The Hague

Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain, Co-Chair and Head of Secretariat, Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands, and Director, Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy, University of Delaware

Dr. Alfred Duda, Senior Advisor, International Waters, Global Environment Facility

Mr. Salif Diop, Senior Environmental Affairs Officer, UNEP

Dr. Anamarija Frankic, Advisor to the Government of Croatia, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Ms. Fanny Douvere, UNESCO

Key Points Addressed at the Roundtables

Following the presentations made at the Third Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands, participating Ministers and High-level Government Officials agreed that there is general consensus on the global agenda for the sustainable development of ocean and coastal areas and small island developing States. They underlined the importance and need for a strong global leadership to ensure the coordination and successful implementation of the Agenda's programmes and actions.

The ministers strongly supported the informal scope of the Conferences Ministerial Roundtables as a rare and exceptional opportunity for ministers and High Level Government Officials from developed as well as developing states to actually discuss and interact with each other on major oceans issues without the pressure of making an official declaration or statement.

They strongly emphasized the need to optimize existing resources and to consider:

1. The complexity of existing networks of international, intergovernmental, governmental, regional and local networks that play a role in the implementation process and the need to review the existing structures, combined with the proliferation of international agreements and conventions and their burden on national administrations;
2. The need to adopt a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approach when addressing global oceans and coastal issues;
3. The need to enforce cooperation among the various actors involved in the implementation process and to harmonise their efforts;
4. How to provide the leaders with the required knowledge and understanding on what exists and happens in the oceans that assist them in the decision-making process; how to help them in the formulation and implementation of new projects and enable them to integrate principles of best practice; and
5. The need to involve all relevant local and regional actors in the decision-making process so as to optimize the results for success by raising awareness in local communities and involving them in the implementation process.