The role of environmental impact assessments in the establishment and management of marine protected areas under the UNCLOS and the BBNJ Agreement

Abstract This article analyses the role of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in establishing and managing marine protected areas (MPAs) in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Agreement under the UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). The analysis is conducted by discussing Articles 194 and 205–206 of the UNCLOS and Articles 27–28 and 30 of the BBNJ Agreement. It concludes that the interaction between EIA and MPAs in ABNJ is not only desirable but also critical for the success of MPAs. The BBNJ Agreement operationalises the role of EIAs in establishing and managing MPAs under the UNCLOS by (1) granting EIA an important role in assessing the susceptibility of an MPA to the impact of certain human activities and (2) factoring part of indicative criteria for identifying potential MPAs in the list of criteria to be considered for conducting EIA screening.