24 March 2021: CIL Director Dr Nilüfer Oral was Invited to Speak at CNA’s Virtual Conference on “High Seas Resources, Ocean Security, and the Great Powers”.
This event was a timely discussion about the legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) currently under negotiation at the UN and its security implications. In recent years, heavy high seas fishing and the race for deep-sea living resources have emerged as geopolitical concerns. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides no robust governance for these resources, raising the spectre of contested or depleted commons. As a new US administration eager to tackle challenges with more multilateralism settles into office, how will this new dimension to UNCLOS intersect with well-publicized concerns about Chinese fishing and genetic experiments? And how might the BBNJ treaty offer new tools for responsible oceans management and encourage more cooperative engagement among the great powers?
Other speakers at the conference include:
Dr. Catherine Blanchard, Lecturer, University of Utrecht
Dr. James Kraska, Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Maritime Law, U.S. Naval War College
The event is moderated by:
Mr. Cornell Overfield, Analyst, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA
A recording of the event can be accessed at the link:
