Regulatory Innovation of the BBNJ Agreement to International Law of the Sea
The BBNJ(Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction)Agreement a-dopted at the United Nations Headquarters in 2023 is a milestone in global ocean governance.Focusing on the significant and cutting-edge issues,the BBNJ Agreement newly establishes a unique legal regime for marine genetic resources(MGR)and associated digital sequence information(DSI),including a whole chain notification system on access to and utilization of MGR as well as its DSI,and an obligation by devel-oped Parties to make annual contributions to a special fund for fair and equitable sharing of benefits.Under the Agreement,a marine protected area(MPA)regime has been successfully designed for global high seas,which is critical to reach the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,es-pecially the target to protect 30％of terrestrial,inland water,and marine and coastal areas by 2030.It also enriches a regime for environmental impact assessment(EIA)aiming to regulate maritime activities.Such rules and regulations in the BBNJ Agreement operationalize Article 206 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea with respect to the obligation of conducting EIA for planned activities potentially risky for the ocean,which can help to protect and preserve the marine environment.In order to avoid affecting the implementation of the Agreement by interfering with land or maritime disputes between States,the BBNJ Agreement includes some provisions to ensure that the Agreement shall not be applied to the sea areas with-in national jurisdiction or disputed waters.Noteworthy,the Conference of the Parties of the Agreement shall not consider for decision proposals for the establishment of any area-based management tools,including MPAs,that include any areas within national jurisdiction or any disputed waters relating to sovereignty,sovereign rights or jurisdiction.The above outcomes fill in the gaps in international law of the sea and expand its regulatory scope,making contributions to develop marine legal system and advance global ocean governance.
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