Garima Singh<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABNJ or Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction also referred to as the high seas are part of the oceans that lie beyond any nation\u2019s official jurisdiction. They are the regions found beyond the 200 nautical miles of a country\u2019s coastline or beyond their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) where they have full sovereignty and legal rights. These regions are considered as global commons, and are accessible to all the nations for any right purposes (Global Environment Facility). ABNJs comprise 64% of the total ocean area. They constitute two-thirds of the world\u2019s oceans and thus it becomes an enormous task to manage the rules and regulations guarding them. The high seas lie beyond a single nation’s jurisdiction making the task extremely difficult due to their vastness and remoteness. To combat the same the UN established a framework known as UNCLOS or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994. It is primarily governed by international law under the principle that the high seas are the common heritage of all mankind. UNCLOS creates an obligation for all the countries to work towards saving marine resources and conserving the blue environment (IUCN). It is the foundational treaty governing ocean use, including territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, and the high seas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The areas beyond national jurisdiction or the high seas are seen to be rich in diverse and exotic marine biodiversity such as white sharks, blue whales, leatherback turtles or elephant seals. These waters support some of the planet\u2019s most unique ecosystems and significant biodiversity that are highly evolved and have learnt to survive extreme heat, cold, salinity, pressure or darkness (Smithsonian ocean, Dana Olsan). The UNCLOS due to its limitations fails to provide a proper framework on sustainable use of marine resources, it also became outdated, it did not anticipate today\u2019s level of marine bioprospecting, climate change impacts, or deep-sea exploitation. Despite an international law in place, the areas are continuously poached upon, overfished, regularly trespassed and show continuous deterioration. The only tools available to monitor the areas of the high seas fall within the umbrella of Regional fisheries management organisations or RFMOs that manage fish stocks in those specidic areas or the International organisations such as International Seabed Authority, International Maritime Organisation, but these forums primarily deal with maritime safety, pollution related to the ships and operates in isolation from focus on marine biodiversity. Owing to these limitations, BBNJ treaty or Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement was adopted by the UNCLOS in June 2023 to present legal structures and clear framework to protect the biological diversity in the ABNJs. It also comes under the umbrella of BBNJ that needs to be ratified by at least 60 countries to get into enforcement. It demands international cooperation on four key marine issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India signed BBNJ in July 2024 but has not yet ratified it (UN BBNJ Agreement). More than 90 countries have also signed the agreement but without ratification of over 60 countries, the agreement is yet to receive a green flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is believed that BBNJ will be a significant move in the area of sustainable ocean governance. One of the key ways BBNJ is handling the issues is with the help of Area based management tools or ABMTs, that include the concept of PSSAs or Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas, a concept by the IMO to better align with the conservation goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be successful in a field so vast it requires global cooperation, however no country puts forward measures apart from in their own EEZs. It becomes necessary to enforce the international legal regimes on the member states, and it also is the latter\u2019s responsibility to act on it. The member states should see that no foreign vessels are entering the high seas beyond their coastlines and enforce regulations for the same. Port states also need to develop effective sea-monitoring systems (Ocean development and International law). One of the first challenges to address would be the ongoing tensions and unresolved status quo between the countries. There have been such examples in the South China sea where the EEZs are not yet defined properly and even if they are, nations choose to disregard it. It is imperative that for a global cause like this the global community comes together and puts in the needed efforts for a sustainable future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Garima Singh ABNJ or Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction also referred to as the high seas are part of the oceans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[46],"tags":[251,893,180,358,894,500],"yoast_head":"\n