Marjo Vierros, Visiting Fellow at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, gave a seminar on April 27th, 2016 on the changing landscape of ocean governance and the recently started negotiations at the United Nations for a new international instrument for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, or the “global ocean commons.”
Historically, our view of the deep sea was one of a place that was dark, distant and dull. Only in recent years have advances in research technologies allowed us to better understand the diversity of this remote part of the ocean, which includes ecosystems such as cold water coral and sponge reefs, seamounts, hydrothermal vents and other chemosynthetic ecosystems. The water column is also full of life, including floating plankton and microscopic bacteria and viruses. While we still know less about the deep sea than we know about the surface of the moon, we can now appreciate how diverse, and yet fragile, the life in the ocean is.
“The current governance system does not take into account how ecologically interconnected the ocean is, with migratory species and fish crossing jurisdictions, and how intensifying human activities and their growing impacts affect almost the entire ocean.”
Similarly, our concept of how the ocean should be governed has changed. In 1609 when Hugo Grotius wrote his treatise of Freedom of the Seas to defend Dutch trading interest, it was still thought that the ocean was so vast that humans could not impact it. By 1982, when the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was adopted, high seas freedoms were balanced with duties to protect and preserve the marine environment. However, while UNCLOS recognized that “the problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole”, in practice ocean governance is undertaken by several sectoral agencies, with the result that the legal, policy and institutional regime is fragmented and lacks structure, consistence and coherence. The current governance system does not take into account how ecologically interconnected the ocean is, with migratory species and fish crossing jurisdictions, and how intensifying human activities and their growing impacts affect almost the entire ocean.
50 % of the planet
64% of the ocean
is beyond national jurisdiction
A full 64% of the ocean, or 50% of the planet, falls outside the jurisdiction, ownership, and protection of any state or single international agreement. This area is the “global ocean commons”, owned by everyone and no one. It is one of the least protected places in the world, where a frontier mentality persists. Recognizing the deficiencies in the current governance regime, including the inability to address new human uses such as geo-engineering and offshore aquaculture, and to conduct environmental impact assessments and to put in place marine protected areas, the United Nations General Assembly decided in 2015 to develop a new legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction under UNCLOS. A preparatory Committee started work in March 2016 and will continue through 2017, with the General Assembly deciding in 2018 whether and when to convene an intergovernmental conference to finalize the text of the international instrument.
In the context of these treaty negotiations, Dr. Vierros’ research at the Liu Institute is framed by three questions: Who benefits from ocean resources? Who gets to decide about their use and protection? And how do we provide for intergenerational equity in the long term through a healthy and resilient ocean?
Examining ownership and the need to share benefits from the development of marine genetic resources from the deep sea into products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and enzymes, she collaborated with UBC and other colleagues to publish a paper on the ownership of ocean resources (see “Who Owns the Ocean? Policy Issues Surrounding Marine Genetic Resources” by Vierros et al in ASLO Bulletin).
This work is also being expanded to include an economic component. Additional research is utilizing maps of migratory species tracks overlaid with maps of coastal Indigenous communities to argue why the participation in Indigenous Peoples is important in UN negotiations relating to marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. The research argues for a “whole ocean” approach to managing species and ecosystems, and also considers lessons that could be learned from coastal communities, including in particular from traditional management systems.
*What are your thoughts on Dr. Vierros’ three research questions? Where are the gaps in research? What do you think is needed to protect marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction? Please comment below.
