I am interested in the evolution of international oceans governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, or the high seas. My previous work examined the production of the Sargasso Sea, a focus area for high seas conservation in the Atlantic Ocean, as a governable object (Acton et al. 2019). More recently, I have been following the formal discussions at the UN to re-negotiate high seas conservation and management. How will these discussions about an umbrella agreement interact with existing area-based management in the high seas? How will they affect negotiations within sectoral fishing, mining, and shipping management institutions? This research includes opportunities for interested students to participate in a collaborative event ethnography tracing the final negotiating meeting at the UN headquarters in New York.
We have been following the ongoing UN negotiations toward a new instrument to govern the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with particular focus on discussions surrounding area-based management tools and marine genetic resources. This project examines how actors invoke the materiality of ocean space in negotiating competing claims to ocean spaces and resources, and the potential implications for high seas governance and equity in benefit distribution.