Abstract
The UN General Assembly has made a unanimous decision to start negotiations to establish an international, legally-binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity within Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). However, there has of yet been little discussion on the importance of this move to the ecosystem services provided by coastal zones in their downstream zone of influence. Here, we identify the ecological connectivity between ABNJ and coastal zones as critically important in the negotiation process and apply several approaches to identify some priority areas for protection from the perspective of coastal populations of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Initially, we review the scientific evidence that demonstrates ecological connectivity between ABNJ and the coastal zones with a focus on the LDCs. We then use ocean modelling to develop a number of metrics and spatial maps that serve to quantify the connectivity of the ABNJ to the coastal zone. We find that the level of exposure to the ABNJ influences varies strongly between countries. Similarly, not all areas of the ABNJ are equal in their impacts on the coastline. Using this method, we identify the areas of the ABNJ that are in the most urgent need of protection on the grounds of the strength of their potential downstream impacts on the coastal populations of LDCs. We argue that indirect negative impacts of the ABNJ fishing, industrialisation and pollution, communicated via oceanographic, cultural and ecological connectivity to the coastal waters of the developing countries should be of concern.
Highlights
Communities living along the ocean coastlines, especially those in the developing world, perceive the value of the goods and services provided by the ocean mostly from a national perspective, related to the territorial waters or exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) and the coastal waters are tightly connected, and that activities in the ABNJ are impacting the coastal zone, where communities living along the coastlines are reliant on marine resources for their food security or livelihood
Ecological connectivity between distant marine ecosystems is effected through two types of connections: passive or circulation connectivity mediated by the ocean currents and active or migratory connectivity achieved by active swimming by marine species (e.g. Ref. [12])
Summary
Communities living along the ocean coastlines, especially those in the developing world, perceive the value of the goods and services provided by the ocean mostly from a national perspective, related to the territorial waters or exclusive economic zone (EEZ). There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the ABNJ and the coastal waters are tightly connected, and that activities in the ABNJ are impacting the coastal zone, where communities living along the coastlines are reliant on marine resources for their food security or livelihood. UNCLOS does provide some clarity on this by defining that the areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction (ABNJ) include: A. the water column beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or beyond the Territorial Sea where no EEZ has been declared, called the High Seas (Article 86); and. B. the seabed which lies beyond the limits of the continental shelf, established in conformity with Article 76 of the Convention, designated as “the Area” (Article 1) This distinguishes the ‘Area’ (seabed) from the High Seas' (water column above) and the total of both would be referred to as the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). The term ‘High Seas’ will be used, as appropriate, when citing directly from an existing publication that uses that specific terminology or when the discussion is, referring only to the High Seas water column
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