Biodiversité

new agreement is being negotiated under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to provide legally binding mechanisms to protect the marine environment and to conserve and ensure the sustainable use of marine biodiversity on the high seas (international waters in areas beyond national jurisdiction) (1). One of the suggested objectives in the current draft text is to “apply an approach that builds ecosystem resilience to the adverse effects of climate change” when applying area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs).

University researchers say climate change needs to be taken into greater account when it comes to the creation and management of marine protected areas.

Derek Tittensor, an associate professor in Dalhousie University's biology department, was lead author of the recently released paper on the topic.