#ocean #ABNJ #BBNJ #biodiversity #fishery #deep sea mining #shipping #dumping #UNCLOS #GEF #sustainable development #SDGs
- GEF-STAP information paper
Marine Areas beyond national jurisdiction' (ABNJ) refers to areas which are beyond the boundaries of any single state and comprise 64% of the oceans' surface (and 43% of the world's surface). These areas - the high seas and the international seabed area - represent a global commons which contains ecosystems with rich marine resources and biodiversity of significant ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural importance, which are subject to increasing impacts from ongoing anthropogenic activities (e.g. unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, illegal and unreported fishing, maritime transport and associated noise, ship strikes, pollution, and transport of invasive species, mineral extraction), emerging threats from the burgeoning carbon economy (e.g. ocean fertilization and carbon sequestration, offshore energy, aquaculture), global climate change, and their associated cumulative effects. These threats have serious implications for the health, productivity and resilience of the global oceans in ABNJ - and by extension to society - and requires urgent global action. A reasonable first step is to have a comprehensive mapping and description of the current regulatory landscape of ABNJ, and to identify potential gaps and weaknesses in the system and its management. This is exactly what the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of Global Environment Facility (GEF) did in their recently published information paper.
It has implication more than simply to GEF's work, given that the negotiation on BBNJ is under way s mandated by UN General Assembly.
Have a look at the paper to learn more details!