For the next two weeks, representatives from Member States have gathered at the United Nations to try and reach a consensus on a legally binding instrument regarding the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction in general and marine genetic resources in particular. This includes questions on the sharing of benefits, area-based management tools (e.g., marine protected areas), environmental impact assessments, capacity-building, and the transfer of marine technology. Currently, only one percent of areas beyond national jurisdiction are protected, so the work of the Intergovernmental Conference is crucial to achieving the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in such areas, namely the high seas and the international seabed area.
The 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 is available here.