Introducing thresholds to Arctic Ocean governance for biodiversity conservation

Given the continued declined of marine biodiversity across the globe, which is linked to overexploitation, pollution and climate change impacts exacerbated through anthropogenic activities, the current ocean governance and management system needs to be reconsidered. This assumption also stands firm in view of the inherent and natural characteristics of marine ecosystems, such as their dynamism, fluidity, and non-linearity, which largely lack consideration. This paper introduces the concept of thresholds as triggers for automatic (interim) conservation and provides considerations on their potential to advance conservation efforts for biodiversity in view of contemporary challenges emerging from the ocean governance system. While the insufficiency of conservation efforts spans across the entire marine space, some regions are particularly vulnerable to pressures and impacts from climate change and marine activities. This includes the Arctic marine region. As the protection of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) through marine protected areas (MPAs) is lagging far behind other marine regions, the Central Arctic Ocean high seas portion has been selected as the main focus of the research. The paper provides an overview of the applicable legal framework in ABNJ for biodiversity conservation. It highlights its challenges and elaborates on the concept of thresholds in environmental management, as well as existing examples. This illustrates the linkage between conservation efforts and marine management, as well as their incorporation in the legal framework. As a result, this contribution aims at demonstrating the relevance of thresholds to enhance ocean governance approaches and offers a way forward towards effective and adequate conservation management in times of climate change.