From Undermining to Strengthening: Implications of the Forthcoming Agreement on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction for MPA Governance in the North-East Atlantic

Abstract

Among the most pressing issues that remain unresolved in the process of negotiating a new international legally binding instrument ( ILBI ) on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction ( BBNJ ) are the institutional arrangements, as they underpin the treaty as a whole. This article seeks to shed new light on the question of what institutional shape the ILBI should take, by closely analysing the pluralistic governance model that is reflected in the BBNJ Draft text and exploring its potential normative and institutional interactions with the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ( OSPAR Convention), under which a vast network of marine protected areas ( MPA s) has been put in place. The BBNJ ILBI has great potential to strengthen regional bodies in their endeavours to establish MPA s as opposed to ‘undermine’ them.