Volume: 21 Issue: 9 Author: Cymie Payne Insight: In July 2017, a Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of United Nations member states agreed to take the next step toward negotiating an international instrument to govern the marine biodiversity of the high seas. This was an important milestone in a process with roots in sustainable development and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),[1] (/print /6999#_edn1) the landmark treaty frequently described as “the constitution for the oceans.” The PrepCom will send a report and recommendations to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for consideration in Fall 2017 for a new implementing agreement to UNCLOS to address the living marine environment in areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.[2] (/print /6999#_edn2) This Insight offers an overview of the process leading to such negotiations. It then reviews the issues refined by the PrepCom for consideration by an intergovernmental conference on conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Constituting nearly two-thirds of the world ocean and 95 percent of its volume, the high seas are ocean waters beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from any state’s coastal baseline (or 12 nm for states that have not claimed an Exclusive Economic Zone) and the seabed beyond 200 nm (or extended continental shelf boundaries where they have been claimed).[3] (/print /6999#_edn3) Marine biodiversity, including fisheries and marine genetic resources, exists within both areas of national control and areas beyond national jurisdiction, resulting in important transboundary effects and challenging commons considerations. Ocean biodiversity is intimately linked with ecosystem services essential for human survival.[4] (/print/6999#_edn4) Half of the oxygen humans breathe is produced by ocean plankton; the ocean absorbs heat and about 26 percent of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. More biodiverse than land, the ocean includes resources with and without commercial value. While primary production in areas of upwelling has no market value, it is the basis of the oceanic food web. Commercially important marine resources include seafood, hydrocarbons, and seabed minerals; marine life is the primary source of essential protein and micronutrients for about 3 billion people. Marine sources of unique genes, such as the thermophiles that live in super-heated hydrothermal vents, are potentially highly valuable for industrial, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and other applications. Cultural and religious ecosystem services associated with high seas living resources have social value, particularly for island and other ocean-going peoples. Harm to the living marine environment of the high seas and deep ocean is largely caused by economic uses of marine natural resources, by impacts of ships, and by pollution (including acidification, warming, and deoxygenation from climate forcing emissions); other activities include cable deployment, waste dumping, bioprospecting, energy generation, and Published on ASIL (https://www.asil.org (https://www.asil.org)) Home (/) > Biodiversity in High Seas Areas: An Integrated Legal Approach Biodiversity in High Seas Areas: An Integrated Legal Approach Biodiversity in High Seas Areas: An Integrated Legal Approach https://www.asil.org/print/6999 1 of 5 9/6/17, 20:03