Abstract
Over one hundred governments are currently negotiating a new legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The new agreement is to address four broad themes: marine genetic resources (MGRs); area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs); environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and capacity building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TT). Although a large corpus of scientific BBNJ literature exists, a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of the academic debate is currently missing. This systematic review seeks to fill this gap by examining the main priority topics and recommendations in a sample of 140 multidisciplinary, geographically diverse publications. As an up-to-date summary and analysis, it is intended for researchers from diverse academic disciplines in the natural and social sciences, policy-makers, and practitioners. It untangles the complex BBNJ negotiations, highlights the policy relevance of existing work, and facilitates links between science, policy, and practice. It presents recommendations made in the literature sample for each of the four package elements of the future treaty and identifies four overarching themes: ocean connectivity, institutional design, the role of science, and digital technology. This paper identifies two important gaps that need to be addressed if we are to conserve marine biodiversity in international waters: the science-policy interfaces and the need for transformative change.
Highlights
Marine biodiversity and ecosystems are facing threats from various sources, including shipping, fishing, climate change, and emerging human activities, such as bioprospecting and deep-sea mining (Rayfuse, 2012; Druel and Gjerde, 2014; Rochette et al, 2014a; Ma et al, 2016)
Since we exclusively focused on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and the current biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiations, remaining articles go beyond the scope of this study
The following section discusses the results of the BBNJ literature review; it offers some critical reflections on the corpus and the authors’ findings and recommendations
Summary
Marine biodiversity and ecosystems are facing threats from various sources, including shipping, fishing, climate change, and emerging human activities, such as bioprospecting and deep-sea mining (Rayfuse, 2012; Druel and Gjerde, 2014; Rochette et al, 2014a; Ma et al, 2016). Scientific and technological innovations introduced since the adoption of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) have created legal uncertainty for stakeholders regarding the exploration and exploitation of marine genetic resources (MGRs). A new legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), whose pre-negotiations started in 2006, is currently being negotiated among UN member states. This “BBNJ treaty” is an attempt to preserve vulnerable marine ecosystems, use the ocean and marine species in a sustainable manner, legally regulate access to and benefit sharing of marine genetic resources in international waters, and strengthen ocean science and marine technology around the globe. The negotiations are a response to the fragmented framework of ocean governance, including four “package elements”: marine genetic resources (MGRs); area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs); environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and capacity building and marine technology transfer (CB&TT)
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