The Conservation Of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

Since Age of Exploration,Hugo Grotius proposed “The Free Sea”,and believed that the sea,like the air,should not be owned and privatized by anyone,but should be shared by all mankind.In 1982,as the promulgation of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,the principle of "freedom of the high seas" was formally established,since then,the principle of "freedom of the high seas",of course,has become the basic principle of international law,and has always been the basis for states to conduct marine activities on the high seas.However,with the growth of science and technology and the upgrading of navigation ability,the problems of marine ecological environment are becoming more and more obvious.The principle of freedom of the high seas conflicts with the conservation of biodiversity and marine biological resources beyond national jurisdiction.In order for protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction and protect our own sustainable development,BBNJ agreement comes just in time.In the current stage,the remaining issues that remain unresolved in the negotiation include whether BBNJ should apply the principle of human common property inheritance or the issue of freedom of the high seas;measures such as zoning management tools including marine reserves;environmental impact assessment;and how to build BBNJ’s executive body.This paper summarized the existing international legal regulations and limitations of protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction,and analyzed the deficiencies of protecting biodiversity beyond nationaljurisdiction.And in terms of applicable principles,it demonstrated that the legality of the principle of freedom of the high seas has not been fundamentally shaken and the effect of applying the principle of inheritance of common property of mankind in practice is not ideal,it advocates the application of the principle of "freedom of the high seas",which should be limited to some extent.It shifted the focus of attention of all countries from vague dispute over principles to more specific institutional level,in an effort to promote the implementation of BBNJ negotiations as soon as possible,protect biodiversity and sustainable development beyond national jurisdiction.Secondly,it put forth countermeasures on how to protect biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction and how to take part in BBNJ negotiation,that provides further theoretical support for China to realize the strategy of maritime power.