IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC)

Marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) are under increasing pressure from human impacts, putting at risk biodiversity, ecosystem processes and function. There is a heightened focus on whether current arrangements and policies are adequate. This paper explores possible elements of a new instrument to protect such biodiversity – an Implementation Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This paper contains a case study on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) that is located in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). The purpose of this paper is to review the scope and functioning of applicable regional regimes and to identify if, and what kind of, regulatory and/or governance gaps exist. The case study complements and should be read in conjunction with the other three studies in this Marine Series.

The second paper in this marine series builds on the complementary study described in Marine Series No. 1 that identified several significant regulatory and governance gaps in the international regime for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

Sixty-four percent of the world ocean lies in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). The first paper in this four-part series was prepared to address the question of whether there is a regulatory or governance gap in the international regime for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) and, if so, how it should be addressed. The study reveals that important regulatory and governance gaps still exist.

Moins de 11 % des Parties à la CDB ont adopté des lois de fond sur l'ABS et presque toutes sont des pays en développement qui ont surtout privilégié le terme « accès » de l'équation. Or, la plupart des obligations ABS spécifiques énoncées par la CDB ont trait à l'autre terme de l'équation - le partage des avantages.

El debate actual sobre el "certificado de origen, fuente y procedencia legal" incluyen las implicaciones legales y prácticas asociadas con el rastreo de los recursos genéticos. Saber qué está dónde, cómo llegó allí, y si se cumplieron las condiciones y restricciones, es un aspecto crítico en la implementación eficaz de un régimen de APB.

Les discussions en cours sur le « certificat de source, d’origine et de provenance juridique » tiennent compte des implications juridiques et pratiques du traçage du flux de ressources génétiques. Il est essentiel de savoir où se trouvent ces ressources, comment elles y sont venues et si les conditions et restrictions ont été respectées si l'on veut que l'application du régime APA soit efficace.

Governance for sustainability is defined as the set of written and unwritten rules that link ecological citizenship with institutions and norms of governance. It is a complex topic because it addresses the three issues of globalization, democracy and sustainability. No form of governance can succeed if there is no common bond between those who govern and those who are being governed.

Compilation of the publications of the IUCN Environmental Law Programme between 2000 and 2008.

This book is the very first attempt to describe the development of environmental law. In particular, those developments under the auspices of the Environmental Law Programme of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and within the network of the International Council of Environmental Law and all concerned national and international agencies and organizations.