Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP)

The GESAMP mechanism functions under the auspices of ten UN Organizations, all with substantial maritime and ocean interests and potentially overlapping responsibilities. Sustainable governance of the marine environment requires a multidisciplinary, scientific understanding of marine ecosystems and human activities that affect them. This is an increasing concern for the UN as a whole and GESAMP was created to meet this need.

GESAMP ensures that its sponsoring organizations:

Identify areas of common scientific interest (to reduce duplication)
Reduce costs by co-sponsoring
Receive consistency in the advice provided
Place their specialised activities in a broader perspective
Ocean sustainability requires a policy approach that is:

Cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary:
Based on scientific understanding of marine ecosystems and human activities that affect them
There is a practical need for UN Agencies to:

Reduce duplication:
Identify areas of common interest
Foster consistency in received advice
Place their specialised activities in a broader perspective