IUCN Commission on Environmental Law (CEL)

This publication aims to advance conceptual thinking and legal understanding about important law and policy tools and options for supporting the connectivity of protected area systems. The legal research and analyses reflected in this paper span international, regional, national and local levels.

This publication presents proposals from a management workshop on conservation and management measures applicable to high seas areas in the Southern Indian Ocean regarding: (i) a biodiversity initiative; (ii) the principles, objectives and process included in the draft road map developed in support of the initiative; (iii) the concept, advantages and potential members of the alliance proposed to further develop the Initiative; and (iv) the collaborative arrangement needed to formalize the all

This publication presents a legal and institutional gap analysis of the project area, covering five seamount regions, two of which are inside proposed Benthic Protected Areas (BPAs), Atlantis Bank and Coral Seamount, and three outside BPAs. It proposes improvements to the legal and institutional framework.

The individual and cumulative threats to and effects of the full range of human activities on marine ecosystems and biodiversity in general, and seamounts in particular, in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) are still largely unknown. These threats and their effects must be taken into account in order to be able to develop a robust, holistic ecosystem-based management scheme.

The purpose of these guidelines is to update and expand the original guidelines on protected areas legislation published in 1980 and to reflect new developments and emerging issues. These developments include significant advances in international environmental law, and an improved scientific understanding of the role of protected areas in nature conservation, including conserving biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem functions and supporting sustainable development.

Ces lignes directrices ont pour but de mettre à jour et d’étendre les lignes directrices publiées en 1980 et de refléter les évolutions et les nouveaux enjeux intervenus depuis.

El proposito de las presentes directrices es actualizar las directrices originales publicadas en 1980, teniendo en cuenta la evolucion que ha tenido lugar desde entonces y las problematicas emergentes.

The purpose of these guidelines is to update and expand the original guidelines on protected areas legislation published in 1980 and to reflect new developments and emerging issues. These developments include significant advances in international environmental law, and an improved scientific understanding of the role of protected areas in nature conservation, including conserving biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem functions and supporting sustainable development.

The Draft Covenant is a blueprint for an international framework (or umbrella) agreement consolidating and developing existing legal principles related to environment and development. Since the publication of the second edition in 2000, there have been important developments in the field of international environmental law.