Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty

In Context

• Recently, the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC-4) was convened under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

About

• The meeting aimed to conclude a draft of the instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, also referred to as Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).

BBNJ Treaty

• The “BBNJ Treaty”, also known as the “Treaty of the High Seas”, is an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, currently under negotiation at the United Nations.
• This new instrument is being developed within the framework of the UNCLOS, the main international agreement governing human activities at sea.
• It will achieve more holistic management of high seas activities, which should better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.
• BBNJ encompasses the high seas, beyond the exclusive economic zones or national waters of countries.

Need & Significance

• The current regime governing Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction these areas – owned by none – and all – has resulted in overutilization of fisheries resources and patchwork attempts to regulate resource extraction.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), these areas account for “almost half of the Earth’s surface”.
• These areas are hardly regulated and also least understood or explored for their biodiversity – only 1% of these areas are under protection.
• In the Indian Ocean vents, 100% of molluscs are already listed as critically endangered. This shows the urgent need to protect them from extinction. 

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• UNCLOS is an acronym for the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea. 
• The convention is also sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty. 
• UNCLOS came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
• It replaced the four Geneva Conventions of April 1958, which respectively concerned the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the high seas, fishing and conservation of living resources on the high seas.
• As per UNCLOS, the sea is divided into 4 parts:
  • Territorial waters
  • Contiguous Zone
  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
  • Continental Shelf

Source: DTE