Tag: ABNJ

Marine Biological Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

The STRONG High Seas Project and its partners are pleased to announce the launch of a new website designed to provide information about Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ), including the conservation and sustainable use of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), with an emphasis on the Abidjan Convention Region:http://highseas-abidjanconvention.org/. The user-friendly site is a first stop for anyone wanting to learn more about marine biodiversity in ABNJ, the pressures it faces and the development under the UN of a new treaty on BBNJ. There are links to key publications, events andother websites that are of interest to the Southeast Atlantic.Short fact sheets provide bite-size summaries of key BBNJ issues. Some of the key themes covered on the website include:

The website is currently in English, please bear with us as we are busy developing a French and Portuguese version.

Science for Solutions: Bringing Stakeholders together to Improve Ocean Planning and Governance in ABNJ

The STRONG High Seas Project gathered in Cape Town with representatives from countries, NGOs and academia for the second dialogue workshop about Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction. This workshop was organised in conjunction with the UN-WCMC ABNJ Deep Seas Project and included representatives from all around Africa and was held in partnership with both the Abidjan and Nairobi Secretariats.

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Some of the STRONG High Seas Project Team in Cape Town, June 2019

The importance of the inherent connectivity of the ocean and how commercial activities in the High Seas can impact on coastal livelihoods and overall ecosystem health was reiterated while participants worked to tackle the complexity of how to conserve biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – given the current fragmented governance systems. The workshop highlighted the role of regional organisations in this arena and was dove-tailed with a meeting of the ABNJ Technical working group for the Abidjan Convention.

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