Study On Screening Mechanism Of Environmental Impact Assessment In Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

The United Nations Law of the Sea states that the geographical scope of areas beyond national jurisdiction(ABNJ)includes the high seas,the seabed and the ocean floor and its subsoil,accounting for 64% of the global ocean area,and is an important area for human survival.With the advancement of human science and technology,the increasing intensity of human resources development and utilization has caused serious threats to regional biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction(BBNJ),which has aroused widespread concern in the international community.The United Nations General Assembly established an informal working group in 2004 to discuss the issue and adopted resolution 69/292 on BBNJ conservation and sustainable use in 2015,deciding to develop a legally binding international instrument within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.It covers the four aspects of access and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources,area-based management tools including high seas protected areas,environmental impact assessment,capacity building and marine technology transfer.The BBNJ international agreement has entered the second intergovernmental negotiations.However,there are significant differences in the views on the environmental impact assessment screening.Therefore,the study on screening mechanism of environmental impact assessment in areas beyond national jurisdiction is not only of academic value,but also practical significance.The research content of this paper is to construct a screening mechanism for environmental impact assessment in area beyond national jurisdiction,which is mainly composed of three parts: screening criteria,activity list and geographical area list.Firstly,this paper summarizes the starting thresholds and screening criteria of relevant international environmental impact assessment instruments,and focuses on the analysis of the “significant adverse impact” as the starting threshold for environmental impact assessment,and clarifies the screening criteria of environmental impact assessment applicable to ABNJ from the three main factors of activity location,activity characteristics and activity impact.Then,this paper combs the current situation of the list of environmental impact assessment activities in the world,analyzes the scale and impact of ABNJ's main human activities and its environmental management mechanism,and combines the practice of environmental impact assessment at the international level,regional organizations and major countries,considers that the list of ABNJ's environmental impact assessment activities should include mineral exploration and development,dumping,Engineering scientific research and marine geoengineering activities.Finally,this paper sorts out the current status of the use of the geographical area list of environmental impact assessments in the world,and identifies the eight regional types of ABNJ.According to their current situation and the criteria of the regional,The list of geographical areas for environmental impact assessments beyond the national jurisdiction should be considered to include six other sea areas besides “Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas” and “Particularly Sensitive Sea Area”.