Marine Protected Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction-Existing Legal Principles and Future Legal Frameworks (original) (raw)

2001, Managing Risks to Biodiversity and the Environment on …

The threat to biodiversity on the high seas is a typical example for the "tragedy of the commons". The biggest part of the planet, the so-called high sea, lies beyond national jurisdiction and, hence, no law except for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) applies to the oceans. And UNCLOS, unfortunately, does not provide easily for conservation measures on the high seas but, instead, stresses the principle of the freedom of the sea.