Kamna Kumar 
file photo
Pacific Island nations, including Fiji, are leading global efforts to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national borders.
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty aims to create rules for conserving and sustainably using marine life in high sea areas.
Standing Committee Chair Lenora Qereqeretabua says the lack of legal framework under the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction left these areas vulnerable to climate change, pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction.
“This is to say that the high seas are the areas of the ocean for which no one nation has sole responsibility for management. So the BBNJ Treaty will help to fill the gaps that were not addressed by UNCLOS.”
She stresses that nearly two-thirds of the ocean and its ecosystems lie in these areas, which are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, pollution, overfishing, habitat destruction, and ocean acidification.
However, Deputy Secretary of Fisheries Netani Tavaga raised concerns about our control over marine resources in areas beyond its exclusive economic zone.
Tavaga says that UNCLOS Article 77 recognized the sovereign rights of coastal states on the continental shelf that BBNJ Article 11(4) contradicted to some extent.
He alluded to Article 24 (1) on the setting up of an emergency MPA in the event of a natural disaster or biohazard event.
Tavaga indicated a preference to keep the ABNJ area open, and if an MPA was needed, that the proper consultation be facilitated
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