Ocean materialities and the ontologies of ocean conservation in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: The Costa Rica Thermal Dome

Abstract

Bordering sovereign space is a crucial tenet of contemporary governance approaches. Such rationalities of delineating and fixating space into governable territory forms the convention of conservation regimes. How well have these rationalities translated into conservation efficacy? This article unpacks this question within the Thermal Dome, a marine biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, off the western coast of Central America. Here, wind and ocean currents interact to create an upwelling system of cold, nutrient rich waters creating rich and productive waters, and hence an area of ecological and commercial value. It is dynamic, crossing the exclusive economic zones of various coastal states, further extending into Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Unfortunately, conservation in the Thermal Dome has been fragmented, uncoordinated and ineffective. This article explores how the limited efficacy of conservation governance in the Thermal Dome arises from the land-based ontologies dominating terrestrial conservation. Using perspectives in ocean materiality, this essay demonstrates that the fluidity and seasonality of the Thermal Dome challenges these norms, reflecting the need to incorporate the uniquities of the ocean into how cross-border conservation in the high seas is understood. Such efforts open channels to build and expand on practices in Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSA), in ways that improve the sharing of technical capacities, scientific knowledges, and coordination frameworks from the Dome-up.