Chapter 22
Solving the Potential Conflict: High Seas
Marine Protected Areas and Sovereign
Rights Over the Continental Shelf Beyond
200 Nautical Miles
Inês Aguiar Branco
Abstract Despite representing more than 60% of Earth’s oceans, and hosting a
substantial part of its biodiversity, marine areas beyond national jurisdiction remain
largely unprotected. Consequently, the discussions on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in these areas have become the focus of the
international community over the past decade. As a result, the United Nations
General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference to elaborate
the text of an international legally binding instrument, under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. During the discussions leading to
this decision, the advent of potential conflicts between the sovereign rights
connected to the continental shelf beyond 200 nm and the protective measures
applied in Marine Protected Areas established in the High Seas, was expressed as
one of the pressing concerns. Therefore, it is feared that such concerns will somehow
deter these States from expressing their consent to be bound by the agreement in the
end. This chapter aims to analyse the aforementioned potential conflict and, through
such an analysis, push the work of the intergovernmental conference forward by
providing a possible legal framework to prevent said conflict from having undesired
results.
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Portuguese
Government, The World Resources Institute and the authority of the country or institution
whose facilities were made available for use by the author during the 2016–2017 ITLOSNippon Capacity Building and Training Programme on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS.
The author appreciates the thoughtful comments and discussions exchanged with the Judges and
Legal Officers of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, in particular His Excellency
Judge T. Nyndiae, along with the endless guidance and assistance of many Professors and
friends, without which this chapter would have never become more than a passionate idea.
I. Aguiar Branco (*)
World Resources Institute, Sustainable Ocean Initiative, Secretariat - High Level Panel for a
Sustainable Ocean Economy, London, UK
e-mail: ines.aguiarbranco@wri.org
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_22
423
Solving the Potential Conflict: High Seas
Marine Protected Areas and Sovereign
Rights Over the Continental Shelf Beyond
200 Nautical Miles
Inês Aguiar Branco
Abstract Despite representing more than 60% of Earth’s oceans, and hosting a
substantial part of its biodiversity, marine areas beyond national jurisdiction remain
largely unprotected. Consequently, the discussions on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in these areas have become the focus of the
international community over the past decade. As a result, the United Nations
General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference to elaborate
the text of an international legally binding instrument, under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. During the discussions leading to
this decision, the advent of potential conflicts between the sovereign rights
connected to the continental shelf beyond 200 nm and the protective measures
applied in Marine Protected Areas established in the High Seas, was expressed as
one of the pressing concerns. Therefore, it is feared that such concerns will somehow
deter these States from expressing their consent to be bound by the agreement in the
end. This chapter aims to analyse the aforementioned potential conflict and, through
such an analysis, push the work of the intergovernmental conference forward by
providing a possible legal framework to prevent said conflict from having undesired
results.
The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Nippon Foundation of Japan, the Portuguese
Government, The World Resources Institute and the authority of the country or institution
whose facilities were made available for use by the author during the 2016–2017 ITLOSNippon Capacity Building and Training Programme on Dispute Settlement under UNCLOS.
The author appreciates the thoughtful comments and discussions exchanged with the Judges and
Legal Officers of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, in particular His Excellency
Judge T. Nyndiae, along with the endless guidance and assistance of many Professors and
friends, without which this chapter would have never become more than a passionate idea.
I. Aguiar Branco (*)
World Resources Institute, Sustainable Ocean Initiative, Secretariat - High Level Panel for a
Sustainable Ocean Economy, London, UK
e-mail: ines.aguiarbranco@wri.org
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
M. C. Ribeiro et al. (eds.), Global Challenges and the Law of the Sea,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_22
423