Abstract
In response to heightened threat to Arctic marine biodiversity due to polar ice melt, the following paper seeks to use qualitative secondary research to analyze existing anthropogenic threat to Arctic marine life and to evaluate current efforts on the part of the Arctic Council to protect biodiversity through a network of state-created marine protected areas (MPAs). We conclude that the current method for MPA creation fails to offer adequate pathways for creation of MPAs in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), the high seas which fall beyond individual countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Thus, our central research question is to determine what legal basis and mechanisms exist for the creation of MPAs in ABNJs, with particular focus on the Arctic marine environment. In keeping with The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s (UNCBD) precautionary approach, along with specific rules embodied within The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), we find a basis for creation of MPAs in the ABNJ. The text evaluates findings from the Boulogne-sur-Mer international conference of 2011 to suggest that such MPA creation in ABNJ could be approached via four pathways: regional agreement, UNCLOS implementing agreement, UNCBD additional protocol, or an Arctic Sanctuary modeled on the Antarctic Treaty. While we explore all four options, we argue that, due to geopolitical constraints, a comprehensive regional agreement offers the best path to High Arctic MPA creation.
Highlights
Comparing in size to continental Africa, the Arctic is considered by many to be one of theEarth’s final pristine ecosystems [1], while to others, a resource-rich final frontier [2]
We argue that a complementary, regional legal regime for marine protected areas (MPAs) creation in the High Arctic would offer a pathway to adequate protection while being more politically feasible than other alternatives
Establishment of an MPA within the Arctic Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) would find its legal basis in UNCLOS Part XII, which outlines an obligation to protect the marine environment under Article 192 [36]
Summary
Comparing in size to continental Africa, the Arctic is considered by many to be one of the. The objectives of MPAs are generally to ensure long-term viability and to maintain the genetic diversity of marine species and systems through proper conservation of living resources and maintenance of stable ecosystem services Despite these aims, it is presently unclear whether MPAs can be created in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs), popularly known as the high seas. We argue that a complementary, regional legal regime for MPAs creation in the High Arctic would offer a pathway to adequate protection while being more politically feasible than other alternatives Such a regime, even where non-Arctic states are not parties, would set an important standard, and precedent, for the international community to respect the preservation of the High Arctic’s unique biodiversity as well as the effective functioning of its ecosystem services
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