Our ocean is at risk as man’s increasing impact on the oceans have put cumulative stresses that threaten not only vulnerable sealife and marine ecosystems, but potentially, human health and serious socio-economic costs. The current governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is characterized by a fragmented and often incoherent patchwork of regional and sectoral regimes. The time has come for a shift in the past ocean governance paradigm, one that fills the current gaps and expands to be effective for both emerging and future unknown uses.
From 1-4 April, 2014, governments will gather at the United Nations in New York, for ground-breaking discussions o whether to launch negotiations for a new high seas biodiversity agreement under UNCLOS. These discussions will continue at the UN from 16-19 June, with a focus on the ‘scope, parameters and feasibility’ of a new implementing agreement.
The High Seas Alliance has released a series of policy briefs to coincide with these UN intersessional meetings:
HSA Briefing 1: About the High Seas Alliance
HSA Briefing 2: The Need for a New Implementing Agreement Under UNCLOS on Marine Biodiversity of the High Seas
HSA Briefing 3: Equity, Food Security and Capacity-building
HSA Briefing 4: Wonders of the High Seas
Cover photo by Ashleigh Robertson on Unsplash