Nature conservation

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).

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.

The southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula is a global hot spot of biodiversity. High mountain areas show an outstanding diversity of plant species, while the region is one of the last remaining retreats of large European carnivores, such as bear, wolf and lynx. The border areas in the project region, as in many countries adjoining the European Green Belt, represent some of the last intact nature sites.

The Conservation Finance Guide presents a host of potential financing opportunities for nature conservation in general, with a special focus on protected area management. Many of these finance mechanisms rely on a "market-based" approach, valuing and marketing the goods and services that a protected area generates in support of local livelihoods and the broader economy.