Australia's interaction with Asian countries in the negotiation for an international agreement for the marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

This article highlights Australia's interaction with Asian countries in the development of an international legal instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). An intergovernmental conference with four planned sessions is currently going on under the auspices of the United Nation's General Assembly (UNGA) for the adoption of a new legal instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although there is literature on how Australia and Asia have forged closer engagement on matters of trade, security and culture, literature is scarce on how and in what way they can engage in promoting the conservation of ABNJ. In terms of marine environmental discussion, Australia appears to date overall to have aligned itself closely to other western countries and some developed Asian countries. This article examines the potential scope for increased collaboration with Asia on reaching future legal agreement with respect to ABNJ.

Ecosystem-based fisheries management and the precautionary approach in the Indian Ocean regional fisheries management organisations.

The Indian Ocean hosts a wide range of living resources including fish stocks. Marine resources contribute significantly to economies and livelihoods, and seafood is a major source of protein in Indian Ocean nations. Fisheries resources in the Indian Ocean have started showing symptoms of depletion. Several regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) have been established for sustainable management of the fisheries resources in the Indian Ocean region. These RFMOs were created at different times with various particular mandates, and in some cases prior to the emergence of contemporary scientific concepts and legal approaches to marine environmental governance. In this article, eight such RFMOs are studied to determine the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) and the precautionary approach (PA), which are now widely accepted norms of fisheries management and international law. This article argues that there is a mismatch between the legal and governance frameworks, and the fisheries science and management.

Swatch-of-no-ground marine protected area for sharks, dolphins, porpoises and whales: Legal and institutional challenges.

Bangladesh is host to a major cetacean habitat. The country declared its first marine protected area, namely, the Swatch-of-No-Ground Marine Protected Area, for conservation of some species of dolphins, porpoises, whales and sharks. However, this declaration has not been supported with an effective and robust legal, policy and institutional framework. Against this backdrop, this article critically examines the existing legal and institutional framework for management of this marine protected area. A study on the existing legal framework shows the absence of a robust national legal system for prevention of marine pollution and protection of marine biodiversity. This lack of national legal framework will have a significant impact on the future success of the Marine Protected Area. Moreover, an analysis of the relevant national institutions shows that they are not fully capable of enforcing the law and policy in the marine protected area. Through this analysis, this paper proposes that preparation of a management plan, provision of adequate resources to the relevant agencies, ensuring interagency cooperation, engagement of stakeholders and implementation of international marine environmental law are crucial for the future success of this marine protected area.