A workshop co-organised by IDDRI, Seascape and UNEP-WCMC (United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Center) within the framework of the Marine Protected Areas International Congress organised in Marseille (October, 21-27).
Presentation:
"In marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) — the high seas and the deep seabed located beyond the limits of States’ continental shelves — biodiversity is at significant risk. Covering almost two-thirds of the global ocean, ABNJ represent the largest biome in the global ocean, and indeed on Earth. In 2010, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed that a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 10% of the oceans should be established by 2020. However, establishing MPAs in ABNJ remains a challenge, for legal and governance reasons in particular. Initial promising steps have recently been made at regional level – through the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Region of the Mediterranean and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR). These initiatives will provide experience and inspiration for other regional initiatives in ABNJ but they also face challenges with regard to cooperation in management, compliance and enforcement. In that sense, they also illustrate the potential benefits of developing a new, global legal agreement specifically dedicated to ABNJ. This workshop will therefore aim at analysing the current situation and explore possible directions for developing and strengthening the regional approach in ABNJ."
Interventions:
- Julien Rochette : "MPAs in ABNJ : the state of play"
- Elisabeth Druel : "Strengthening the regional governance of ABNJ through the elaboration of an UNCLOS Implementing Agreement"
