Elizabeth Mendenhall

University of Rhode Island | URI · Department of Marine Affairs

The process for formulating a new treaty for ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (BBNJ) has been long. Since informal discussions began in 2004, the international community has devoted nearly 20 years to setting the agenda, circumscribing the issue areas, and negotiating the terms of a legally binding BBNJ instrument. The fourth and fifth i...

After a two year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the fourth intergovernmental conference (IGC-4) in the negotiations for a new UN treaty to address the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) took place in March 2022. This meeting differed substantially from previous IGCs in terms of proces...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed additional weaknesses of the already troubling "flag of convenience" practices under international law; the passenger cruise industry was especially impacted. Most cruise ships under distress from the pandemic received little aid from their flag states, and many vessels were denied entry into ports of nonflag state...

Nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZ) can offer increased nuclear security and stability for the "second nuclear age." This article surveys existing NWFZs and describes their goals and the role of nuclear-armed states in creating and maintaining the zones. Finally, it evaluates the prospects for creating three new NWFZs as a productive contribution to d...

The effects of climate change on the ocean environment – especially ocean warming, acidification, and sea level rise – will impact fish stocks and fishers in important ways. Likely impacts include changes in fish stocks’ productivity and distribution, human migration to and away from coastal areas, stresses on coastal fisheries infrastructure, and...

The third of four scheduled Inter-Governmental Conferences on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction met in New York in August 2019. This article tracks the progress made in the negotiations, focusing on the four key themes the draft treaty is addressing: (1) marine genetic resources, (2) area-based...

Marine genetic resources (MGR) are a new issue in high seas management. Discussion on how to best manage these resources is currently ongoing at the United Nations, within the context of a proposed treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine 'Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction' (BBNJ), which is expected to be completed in 2020.B...

The best set of solutions is likely to span the scale from individual to international action, and to address different points along the chain of production, consumption, and disposal.

The United Nations is halfway through the scheduled negotiations for a new legally binding instrument to govern biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This paper discusses the results of the second intergovernmental BBNJ conference, which took place March 25 - April 5, 2019, and analyzes the trends, variables, and obstacles shaping the e...

In September 2018, following over a decade of informal discussions, the United Nations General Assembly launched an intergovernmental conference to address the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. This process is scheduled to take two years and is structured around four themes: marine genetic resources, are...

Climate Change and Ocean Governance - edited by Paul G. Harris February 2019

The current regime governing Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) as a global commons has resulted in overutilization of fisheries resources and patchwork attempts to regulate resource extraction. States are looking to expand resource extraction in ABNJs, including marine genetic resources, creating pressures to regulate these activities. As a...

This commentary describes an opportunity for clarification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ‘regime of islands.’ It describes the growing need to authoritatively distinguish between islands, rocks, and artificial islands for the purpose of stabilizing claims to maritime territory. Sea level rise and island building ac...

The creation and augmentation of the outer space governance regime during the twentieth century was guided by the use of analogies with other planetary domains. These analogies compare the “target” domain of outer space with various “source” domains, especially airspace, the seabed, the high seas, and Antarctica. These analogies, highlighted at dif...

Although the phenomenon of marine plastic debris is now widely recognized as a problem for the international community, significant gaps in understanding still inhibit the creation and implementation of effective policy responses. This paper reviews the state of scientific knowledge about the causes and consequences of marine plastic debris, includ...

This article presents a simple modular simulation for teaching the advantages and limitations of Realist theory in an introductory international relations course. The advantages of this simulation include low preparation time, minimal resource requirements, and ease of integration with existing curricula. The game design is built around Kenneth Wal...

This chapter argues that the scale and scope of positive environmentalist agendas are best understood as a nascent civilizational form, which may displace the previously dominant scientific-technological civilization based on consumption and control of planetary systems. The chapter surveys key aspects of the emerging ‘Green Earth’ civilization, in...

This paper considers the relevance of seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold-water seeps for governance of the ocean in the “Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction” (ABNJ). These topographical features concentrate economically significant biotic and mineral resources, and are the site of unsustainable fishing practices. Three proposals for ABNJ govern...