After two years of postponement, a fourth and then fifth round of UN negotiations took place in New York from 7-18 March 2022 and 15–26 August 2022 on an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This treaty would provide a first-ever instrument to protect and manage biodiversity in the high seas, also referred to as international seas or areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). These high seas in question cover more of earth than all land (high seas= 43%; land= less than 30%; exclusive economic zones (EEZs)= ~27%) and consequently, the outcomes of these negotiations will determine protection and resource management for the largest portion of the globe. Ecological connectivity is considered a key component for ensuring the effective management of any marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas, and is included in Article 14 and Annex 1 of the current revised draft text.

Image 1. Overlapping of international governance organizations with high seas mandates on a global map (The Pew Charitable Trusts).

Slow but steady progress
To date, this vast international space has been governed by a smattering of instruments that vary greatly in their mandates and govern jurisdictions that often overlap (image 1). Activities governed by these various instruments include fishing, whaling, shipping, and seabed mining; activities with substantial impact on the ocean environment. A unifying treaty on high seas governance would set universal practices for sustainable use and conservation of resources.

The increasing demands placed on marine resources makes the need for a high seas treaty even more urgent. With advancements in technology, the open ocean is now an integral part of the global economy by feeding billions, supporting the livelihoods of millions, enabling global goods transport, and containing precious deep sea minerals and rare earth elements that are increasingly necessary for scaling green technology including solar cells, electric vehicles, and wind turbines. The modern globalized world depends on oceans with the degree and scale of reliance and related impacts projected to increase.

To address these issues, the fourth and fifth sessions of UN negotiations that started in 2004 addressed a myriad of topics: the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction; marine genetic resources including questions on the sharing of benefits; measures such as area-based management tools including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments and capacity-building; the transfer of marine technology; and cross-cutting issues. Notably, while there was significant progress, both sessions failed to result in adoption of a treaty. With few but still major issues to be resolved, many are calling for IGC-5 to resume by the end of the year in hopes that negotiations will conclude and the BBNJ Agreement will be adopted. During this interim period, it is important that the global community uses the time to prioritize and tackle the most polarizing issues, which include; “the need to develop standards and guidelines for environmental impact assessments, the scope and sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources, and appropriate institutional mechanisms, including a robust, accessible and equitable financial mechanism for implementation and associated needs-based capacity building.”

 

Marine connectivity in the BBNJ Agreement
The spatial delineation of ocean spaces into international governance jurisdictions and exclusive economic zones may be meaningless to how marine life, natural resources, and processes like tides and currents function. However, with human activity increasing on and below the surface of the high seas, conservation activities can be more successful if the fundamental ecological processes of connectivity are considered and coordinated within and across jurisdictions.

As a contribution to supporting successful negotiations, Barbara Lausche (Chair of the IUCN WCPA Marine Connectivity Working Group (MCWG)), and MCWG member Anna Metaxas (Dalhousie University Department of Oceanography), provided their expertise to produce an IUCN Commentary on the further revised text of the BBNJ Agreement. That document therefore included comments for considering broader integration of ecological connectivity and is anticipated to further inform the next revised draft text.

Now, the most recent revised draft text from the fifth session addresses ecological connectivity as a key component for area-based management tools, including marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas. It currently includes the following language:

  • Article 14, Measures such as area based management tools, including marine protected areas includes an objective to “Conserve and sustainably use areas requiring protection, including through a comprehensive system of area-based management tools, with ecologically representative and well-connected marine protected areas”
  • Annex I, Indicative criteria for identification of areas includes “Ecological connectivity” as a criterion for designating area based management tools including MPAs.

The language highlighted in the above bullets reinforces a global recognition that ecological connectivity is a fundamental ecological process that must be maintained, enhanced, and restored to sustain the goods and services provided by oceans now and into the future. The Marine Connectivity Working Group will continue to contribute expertise toward the conclusion of the BBNJ Agreement in the coming months and looks forward to supporting the incorporation of ecological connectivity into marine and coastal policy instruments throughout their objectives, design criteria, management, and measurement to help secure more resilient and connected ecosystems.