Establishment of Marine Protection Areas in the Central Arctic Ocean Interplay between the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction and the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement

Abstract

Ocean biodiversity has been increasingly degraded due to anthropogenic activities. High sea fishing is identified as a significant contributor to biodiversity degradation in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Marine Protected Areas is used as an area based management tool to prevent degradation of marine biodiversity from multiple activities such as shipping, mining and fishing. But establishing MPAs in areas beyond national jurisdiction has been hindered by lack of clear legal basis under UNCLOS an issue which has been addressed under the newly adopted BBNJ agreement. The research examines how and to what extent the new agreement will impact fishing, and how this can be realized without undermining the fisheries regime. This study investigates this by choosing Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement as an example. The research identifies that the two agreements overlap in a number of conservation objectives and can cooperate to establish Marine Protected Areas in the Central Arctic Ocean. It finds BBNJ agreement will serve as a platform for cross sectoral management of human activities in MPAs although several challenges remain. The study highlights the potential of CAOFA in effectively protecting marine biodiversity in the Arctic.