Getting beyond yes: fast-tracking implementation of the United Nations agreement for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Gjerde, Kristina M.; Clark, Nichola; Chazot, Clément; Cremers, Klaudija; Harden‐Davies, Harriet; Kachelriess, Daniel; Payne, Cymie R.; Rodriguez-Chaves, Mariamalia; Spadone, Aurélie; Thiele, Torsten; Vierros, Marjo; Goettsche-Wanli, Gabriele; Wright, Glen

doi:10.1038/s44183-022-00006-2

Cited by 29 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…In the case of ABMTs, including MPAs, in order to meet conservation requirements and still meet stakeholder interests, a multidisciplinary approach is essential to balance social and ecological factors (Ruiz-Frau et al, 2015). The multitude of research fields identified in our data indicates that the same applies to the BBNJ agreement, i.e., a successful implementation must consider a multidisciplinary approach in which international governmental cooperation, solid laws, and the exchange of scientific knowledge regarding environmental and ecological aspects are equally relevant, as previously discussed by Gjerde et al (2022).…”

Section: The Growing Interest On Promoting the Conservation Of Biodiv...supporting

confidence: 55%

Negotiations to implement area-based management tools beyond national jurisdiction: the scientific community’s view

2023

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A new international legally-binding instrument, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction has recently been agreed on– the BBNJ agreement. Area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs) have an important role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in the current context of multiple threats to the ocean and are one of central elements of new instrument. In this work, we assessed the perspective of the scientific community, throughout the period of negotiations, on the potential of the BBNJ treaty to promote the creation of new area-based management tools, including MPAs, and fulfil acknowledged gaps in ocean governance. A systematic literature review was conducted, resulting in 80 publications then analysed in detail. From these, a total of 608 key messages were retrieved and classified into: 1) Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O) or Threats (T) for a SWOT analysis and 2) one of six categories that cover crucial aspects for the successful implementation of the ABMTs in areas beyond national jurisdiction. A Sentiment Analysis (SA) to these key messages shows that the instrument has been perceived by the scientific community as an opportunity for conserving and achieving sustainable use of biodiversity. However, the scientific community also feels that agreement needs stronger provisions to ensure effective measures, which is reflected by the small number of identified strengths. An overall decrease in sentiment score over the negotiations period, i.e. a growing pessimism, was also observed, which is supported by an increase of weaknesses and threats identified in the final stages of the negotiations. Our results suggest that despite its potential to promote conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the instrument should include a unified definition of MPA, address fishing activities and clarify conflicting terms in its provisions, such as the term “not undermine”. Further, we show that sentiment analysis is a useful tool to evaluate opinion trends and facilitate the integration of different and subjective perspectives into final provisions of complex social-political-environmental agreements, identifying positive and negative attitudes that can enable better solutions to address existing governance challenges in international waters.

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Section: The Growing Interest On Promoting the Conservation Of Biodiv...supporting

confidence: 55%

Negotiations to implement area-based management tools beyond national jurisdiction: the scientific community’s view

2023

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“…27 An evaluation of the needs, in this context, will be an important first step, at national and regional levels. 28 In addition, according to Article 43(2), the transfer of marine technology "shall take place on fair and most favorable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, and in accordance with mutually agreed terms and conditions as well as the objectives of this Agreement"; it also "shall take into account all rights over such technologies and be carried out with due regard for all legitimate interests, including, inter alia, the rights and duties of holders, suppliers and recipients of marine technology and taking into particular consideration the interests and needs of developing States for the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement". This submission to existing practices and rules in this area probably reflects the fact that a strict obligation of technology transfer might be in contradiction with international economic law and especially investment law.…”

Section: (Ii) Modalities For Transfer Of Marine Technology and Capaci...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Advent of the 2023 “BBNJ” Agreement: A Preliminary Legal Analysis

Ricard

2024

EPL

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On 4 March 2023, the Member States of the United Nations agreed in New York on the text of a new treaty on biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ or ABNJ) –in international maritime areas. It took marathon process spread over more than ten years of informal discussions, four years of formal negotiations and the final session of almost 36 hours. Rena Lee, the President of the intergovernmental conference, announced to the applause of the delegates that the ship had finally “reached the shore”. This new BBNJ Agreement, now signed by more than 80 countries, is a historic step for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. It is also in consonance with the objectives of the global Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022. This article aims to provide a preliminary analysis of the environmental (preamble, principles and approaches, area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments) and economic (marine genetic resources, capacity building and transfer of marine technologies) content of the 2023 BBNJ Agreement, which are both the result of important compromises. It also seeks to underline the numerous remaining uncertainties and potential difficulties it raises, especially in terms of implementation and articulation with existing instruments and frameworks.

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“…On June 19, 2023, the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) was adopted in New York (BBNJ Agreement, 2023). As a significant addition to existing international ocean governance systems, once it has entered into force, this agreement will help improve integrated management of a changing ocean and support collaboration across regions and sectors to sustain marine ecosystems (Gjerde et al, 2022). In the context of legislative trends, the Agreement was successfully adopted in June 2022, which furthered ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies that have contributed to the depletion of the world's fish stocks.…”

Section: Current Regulatory System For Iuu Fishing and Its Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new approach to combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing: analysis of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

Yu,

Liu

2024

Mar Dev

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Harmful subsidies awarded by states facilitate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which causes negative impacts on ocean ecosystems, seafood value chains, society, and global food security. The World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted on June 17, 2022, aims to improve global fishery governance through trade measures and is regarded as a major step toward the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The objective of this study is to offer a better insight into the interpretation and future implementation of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Based on the status quo of international and regional fishery governance legal systems and management regimes in the regulation of IUU fishing, this study reviews the legislative process of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, analyzes five main controversial issues, and explores the conflicts of interests of different countries during the discussion. In the future, states should promote the transformation of the fisheries sector by reducing harmful subsidies for IUU fishing and enhancing cooperation among coastal states, flag states, port states and relevant RFMOs.

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Getting beyond yes: fast-tracking implementation of the United Nations agreement for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction

Cited by 29 publications

References 35 publications

Negotiations to implement area-based management tools beyond national jurisdiction: the scientific community’s view

Negotiations to implement area-based management tools beyond national jurisdiction: the scientific community’s view

The Advent of the 2023 “BBNJ” Agreement: A Preliminary Legal Analysis

A new approach to combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing: analysis of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

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