Course overview
Marine biological diversity (biodiversity) of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) provides us with many goods and services, from the fish we eat to the regulation of the global climate cycle. Yet it has been recognized that many anthropogenic pressures, cumulatively, put BBNJ at risk, including overfishing and destructive fishing practices, climate change and ocean acidification and pollution from various sources. States began a process in 2004 to seek to address these increasing pressures on BBNJ, and to strengthen cooperation and coordination to achieve the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.
This course provides an introduction to areas beyond national jurisdiction and key milestones in the process relating to the conservation and sustainable use of BBNJ, a detailed synopsis of the applicable legal framework, and an overview of the current process to develop an International Legally Binding Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Learning Objectives
- Define areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and key milestones in the process relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ);
- Describe the relevant legal framework;
- Define the key issues in the process to develop an International Legally Binding Agreement under UNCLOS.