Ecosystem-Based Integrated Ocean Management: A Framework for Sustainable Ocean Economy Development

related management bodies that have a mandate to manage specific types of activity, or promote measures to protect particular groups of species, some operating at a global scale and others at a regional scale (UNEP WCMC 2017, Durussel et al. 2018, UNEP WCMC 2017). The governance silos that exist for ABNJ are repli- cated at national scales (for waters that fall under the jurisdiction of states), where different ministries govern transport, energy, tourism, food production (including aquaculture and fisheries) and environ- mental protection, often with a lack of cross-min- isterial mechanisms for coordination with respect to marine activities. The equivalent is often true at the subnational level (state, province, municipality). Legal frameworks governing jurisdictional waters can also lack coherence, sometimes containing multiple layers with competing, overlapping or contradictory elements (Boyes & Elliott 2014, Qiu & Jones 2013). This lack of governance integration means that there can be a lack of effective mechanisms for addressing cumulative impacts on the environ- ment or for implementing conservation measures that cut across multiple sectors. It also means a lack of effective mechanisms for addressing user- user conflicts which arise in a multitude of con- texts and between a wide variety of users, espe- cially when some users are granted exclusive use of marine areas (Ackah-Baidoo 2013, Arbo & Th ủ y 2016, Bonnevie et al. 2019, Lieberknecht et al. 2016, Röckmann et al. 2015, Schupp et al. 2019, Tuda et al. 2014). Rather than existing as isolated binary conflicts, user-user conflicts interact with each other, creating indirect knock-on effects that are not always easy to predict (Röckmann et al. 2015). Without better integration in ocean management, user-user conflicts and user-environment con- flicts are almost guaranteed to be exacerbated as demands for ocean space and ocean resources increase. The need for better integration mechanisms is increasingly being recognized, both to better man- age user-user conflicts and to improve environ- mental management. In the case of ABNJ, at the time of writing this report, the Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a new legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sus- tainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Conference) had met for its third session. In agreeing to nego- tiate a new legally binding instrument for biodiver- sity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), states have recognized the problem of fragmentation and gaps in existing arrangements for managing ocean

space and resources in ABNJ and are committed to changing the status quo (UNGA 2015).

The new BBNJ instrument is expected to create enhanced cooperation mechanisms that will facili- tate better integration of decision-making by states, regional and global sectoral bodies, and existing biodiversity agreements. If a robust enough treaty text is finally adopted, this may mean the interna- tionalization of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), the routine use of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) (section 4.2.3) and the system- atic use of area-based management tools, includ- ing marine protected areas (MPAs), to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in ABNJ. This represents an opportunity to move from a fragmented and sector-based ocean manage- ment approach towards EB-IOM and to help break down governance silos, better manage cumulative impacts, reduce conflicts between sea users, con- serve biodiversity and improve the overall state of the marine environment.

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