The Relevance of the Human Right to Science for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction: A New Legally Binding Instrument to Support Co-Production of Ocean Knowledge across Scales

Abstract

from the One Ocean Hub, as well as the editors of this volume. 2 As opposed to more open-ended obligations or hortatory treaty language on cooperation: see, for instance, the proposed obligation to "promote" international cooperation in marine scientific research and in the development and transfer of marine technology under draft Art. 6 of the Revised draft text of an 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 (2020) UN Doc A/CONF.232/2020/3, Annex. See also the objective to "[promote the generation of knowledge and technological innovations, including by promoting and facilitating the development and conduct of marine scientific research in areas beyond national jurisdiction, in accordance with the Convention;]" in draft art. 1.c (ibid).3 Transformation is "a fundamental, system-wide change that includes consideration of technological, economic and social factors, including in terms of paradigms, goals or values" and to "[o]bstacles to achieving transformative change, including unequal power relations, lack of transparency, vested interests, unequal distribution of the costs and benefits of actions, tendencies for short-term decision-making, the psychology of losses and gains, the logic of market-driven processes, the lack of policy coherence and inertia": see IPBES, Initial scoping report for Deliverable 1 (c): A thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving

A risk assessment for the remote ocean: the case of the South East Atlantic

“…While the benefit of formal knowledge commonly accrues directly to those that have chosen to study the field, both in terms of intellectual fulfilment and remuneration (Ottaviani, 2020), the knowledge base developed through funding and research programmes by these individuals affords a degree of power. This power enables the knowledgeholders to make decisions that enable exploitation and decisions that may disadvantage other groups (Morgera, 2021). At present the benefit of knowledge is focussed on specific aspects of natural capital assets such as MGRs (section 3.3) and minerals (section 3.4.)…”

The ocean, sustainable development and human rights

“…Another expected area of interest at the UN Ocean Conference concerned the ongoing negotiations of a new treaty on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), which has been under discussion at the UN for decades. 24 In that regard, the 2022 political declaration calls for 'an ambitious agreement without delay'. 25 The declaration also recommends several actions that, although not explicitly linked to the BBNJ treaty, would benefit from specific backing in a future BBNJ agreement.…”