EBSAs as a springboard to developing ABMTs, including MPAs, for BBNJ

The portfolio of ecologically or biologically significant areas (EBSAs) developed by CBD parties over the past two decades represents an invaluable information resource that can signpost areas of the ocean that may need management and/or protection. Within the EBSA collection, 38 areas lie entirely beyond national jurisdictions, offering a variety of possible entry points for countries to consider the potential for developing area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), under the BBNJ Agreement.

The Living High Seas Partnership – a pioneering and ambitious initiative to support the co-development of the first generation of BBNJ ABMTs/MPAs – has based its project approach around a suite of five EBSAs located in the equatorial high seas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific ocean basins. These EBSAs – documented areas of the ocean known for their high biodiversity value – serve as broad scoping areas within which potential candidate sites for ABMT/MPA proposals will be sought. The diversity of characteristics in these EBSAs offer the potential to yield a range of feature-specific sites for ABMTs/MPAs, in turn offering opportunities to consider a diverse and innovative taxonomy of measures and zoning concepts within different contexts and involving varying constellations of actors. This process of ABMT/MPA scoping also provides a golden opportunity to review and modify existing EBSA descriptions with new scientific data under the new modalities agreed at CBD COP16.

Lessons learned from the EBSA process are invaluable to implementing ABMTs/MPAs under the BBNJ agreement, most notably in the application of technical criteria to describe such areas. Indeed, the criteria set out for the description of EBSAs and the associated guidance to establish a representative network of MPAs (CBD Decision IX/20 annexes I & II) align closely with 17 out of the 22 indicative criteria laid out in Annex I of the BBNJ Agreement to establish ABMTs/MPAs. Whilst the BBNJ criteria need overall further clarification and definition, there are clear parallels with some of the EBSA criteria – for example connectivity and representativity. These two criteria are key considerations in the Living High Seas approach, which aims to look beyond single sites and towards the longer-term prospect of creating a representative network of protected ocean areas, in line with the visions of CBD (Decision IX/20) and BBNJ Article 17a.

This side event will examine the practicalities of using EBSAs as a starting point for assessing ABMT/MPA potential in areas beyond national jurisdiction, using the Living High Seas approach as an example. We will present case studies of ABMT/MPA proposals already in development or under consideration, demonstrate how the potential for creating networks of protected areas is being explored as part of this process, and showcase ongoing efforts to expand the scientific evidence base in EBSA scoping areas, including insights from recent scientific expeditions to Living High Seas areas of interest. An expert panel will discuss the lessons learned from the EBSA process, including how the EBSA experience can help operationalize the BBNJ indicative criteria, and how to tackle anticipated scientific and governance challenges.