The Arctic environment and the BBNJ negotiations. Special rules for special circumstances?

Abstract

The question this article wishes to raise, albeit in a preliminary and exploratory manner, is whether or not the Arctic, due to its special ecological circumstances, should be regulated in some special ways within the context of the new BBNJ agreement. Taking as the starting point some of the existing special rules adopted under UNCLOS and the IMO to account for special ecological circumstances, this article explores some of the ways in which the vulnerabilities of the arctic ecosystem could be taken into account in a new BBNJ agreement.