Marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide a range of ecological benefits. Frameworks—including the IUCN protected area categories and The MPA Guide—offer tools towards evaluating an MPA’s objectives, types, Level of Protection, and potential effectiveness. However, the majority of MPAs exist in national waters, raising the question of how these frameworks apply in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). We evaluated the existing ABNJ MPAs in the Antarctic designated through the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) using the two above mentioned frameworks. The newly released The MPA Guide, which complements guidance from the IUCN protected area categories, provides perhaps the most exhaustive framework as it seeks to evaluate implementation, enabling conditions, and outcomes. The CCAMLR MPAs ranged from Category 1A (for IUCN)/Highly Protected (for The MPA Guide) to Category IV (for IUCN)/Lightly Protected (for The MPA Guide) due to differences in management objectives and activities occurring within the zones of the MPAs. Given ongoing negotiations for a new international, legally binding treaty for high seas biodiversity, evaluating an MPA using these existing frameworks will prove useful to allow for a full comprehensive picture of an MPA and what it can expect to achieve.

With the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement adopted, the negotiations process left questions related to what would be included in the final text and how the BBNJ Agreement architecture would function. The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an international body, has successfully established high seas marine protected areas (MPAs), a key aspect of the BBNJ Agreement. Here, we investigate if and how CCAMLR has influenced negotiations on the BBNJ Agreement and how it may influence the forthcoming structure. This work used ethnographic notes and documents from the negotiations and interviews with actors who overlapped at both the BBNJ negotiations and the CCAMLR meetings to elucidate themes of influence that CCAMLR has had on the BBNJ negotiations. We found that CCAMLR is influencing the BBNJ negotiations in several ways, including through setting precedent and as an example for lessons learned. Additionally, we found that there was a divergence of views on whether CCAMLR would be considered a competent body by the decision-making mechanism of the BBNJ Agreement to establish MPAs due to the issues CCAMLR faces on reaching consensus. We found that some aspects of CCAMLR, such as the exclusivity (i.e., restricted to only actors working within the CCAMLR space) was perceived negatively by interviewees, thus affecting the BBNJ Agreement negotiations through hidden red lines. With the BBNJ Agreement adopted, there is still the potential for CCAMLR to be an example for the BBNJ structure and to be a participant in the BBNJ Agreement architecture.

The beginning of 2015 saw a new era within the United Nations: the era of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Built off the previous Millennium Development Goals, this new set of goals included 17 target areas, including, for the first time, an explicit global goal related to the ocean. In June 2017, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, a high-level conference surrounding SDG 14: Life Under Water convened. One dimension of goal 14 calls for 10% of the ocean conserved by the year 2020, through sub-target 14.5. That 10% fulfillment is often thought of in terms of areal coverage via marine protected areas (MPAs). While many objectives were laid out for this conference, one of the most prominent objectives was to build on existing partnerships and foster new collaborations. One way to achieve this target was through the creation of the voluntary commitment program. This “Call for Action” came from heads of state and government, as well as high-level representatives from organizations and stakeholder groups. Under this “Call for Action,” 22 actions related to goal 14 were listed for stakeholders to partake in, including an appeal to create voluntary commitments surrounding the oceans. As of September 2017, 1,395 voluntary commitments had been registered through the voluntary commitment portal process, spanning across organizations and disciplines. Here, we analyze these commitments, specifically those related to the fifth sub-target of SDG 14. Commitments were further refined through spotlighting on those under 14.5 that focused on different forms of resilience. The resulting 133 separate codes covered over 12 distinct forms of resilience. Through analyzing commitments, we map out future plans and predict different forms of MPAs. This research shows collaboration and co-production of knowledge linking across the SDGs. This work can be seen as a stepping-stone to the fulfillment of 10% conservation by 2020.

Since its endorsement as a global network Programme in June 2021, the Early Career Ocean Professional (ECOP) Programme has been instrumental in supporting ocean professionals worldwide through funding, training, networking opportunities, and career development initiatives. Rooted in the vision of elevating diverse perspectives, the ECOP Programme fosters knowledge exchange between experienced professionals and ECOPs to promote ocean sustainability. As the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) enters its fourth year of implementation, the ECOP Programme has grown and diversified to a formidable extent, both geographically and thematically. With over 5,200 ECOPs from 151 countries and overseas territories, the global ECOP community is currently dispersed across five regional nodes and more than 40 national hubs. This commentary brings some of the most active ECOP nodes into the limelight, amplifying their collective efforts to better understand, engage, and empower the next generation of ocean professionals across different cultural contexts. This is also an opportunity to showcase the successes, milestones, and challenges that ECOP nodes have encountered over the past 2 years, including on thematic priorities such as communications and outreach, capacity development, and ocean literacy. Moving forward, the ECOP Programme aims to further expand geographically, enhance funding capacities, deepen capacity development efforts, and promote greater awareness of the UN Ocean Decade ecosystem and its vast portfolio of endorsed Actions. As the next generation of ocean professionals will inherit our interconnected ocean beyond 2030, building trust, transferring knowledge, and taking true ownership of the global ocean agenda are paramount.