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Conservation Target for Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

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Life Below Water

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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UN Sustainable Development Goal 14’s fifth target – SDG14.5 – aims to conserve at least 10% of marine and coastal areas by 2020. SDG14.5 applies to both to marine areas under national jurisdiction and in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ); however, its current application within ABNJ is extremely limited.

Several unique marine biodiversity hotspots exist within ABNJ that could benefit from measures afforded by a marine protected area (MPA) designation. However, significant challenges preclude effective implementation of MPAs within ABNJ due to gaps and fragmentation within the international legal framework governing activities and environmental impacts within these areas.

Assessing progress towards any target requires “SMART” (subject, requires specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bounded) parameters to be defined, otherwise the success of its implementation cannot be evaluated.

SDG14.5’s target is only somewhat SMART. It includes a required...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia

    Sarah M. Watson

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  1. Sarah M. Watson
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Correspondence to Sarah M. Watson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Environmental economics, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco, Monaco

    Nathalie Hilmi

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Watson, S.M. (2021). Conservation Target for Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Wall, T. (eds) Life Below Water. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71064-8_139-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71064-8_139-1

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