ZONABYSSES
In addition to current uses of the deep sea–fishing, laying cables and pipelines, oil and gas exploitation, and exploitation of marine genetic resources–new uses are expected to emerge in the future, including deep-sea mining, geoengineering, and geothermal energy. Each of these activities, individually or collectively, could have detrimental effects on the marine environment. In recent years, ocean law has developed a range of legal tools for protecting the marine environment through zoning, which could be applied to reduce the impacts of these human activities.
The ZONABYSSES project therefore aims to catalogue the various zoning-based tools for marine conservation, including marine protected areas and other area-based conservation measures, and to assess their scientific and social relevance in achieving conservation objectives, using an ecosystem-based approach to the deep sea. The first step will involve mapping and categorising deep-sea zoning management tools by cross-referencing existing databases, followed by an interdisciplinary analysis of the adequacy of their legal regimes in relation to conservation goals. The research will focus on the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction (including the high seas and the Area), where international governance is currently under development.
Pascale Ricard is a legal researcher at the CNRS and a member of the Centre for International and Community Studies and Research (CERIC) at UMR 7318 – International, Comparative and European Law, Aix-Marseille University. Her work focuses primarily on the conservation of marine biodiversity under international law, with particular interest in how legal norms integrate cross-cutting requirements for biodiversity and marine environment protection into various branches of international law. Her recent research examines whether international law on marine biodiversity conservation is sufficiently equipped to address global changes.
Sophie Gambardella is a legal research fellow at the CNRS and also a member of CERIC at UMR 7318 – International, Comparative and European Law, Aix-Marseille University. Her research focuses on the international management of marine biological resources, particularly the 'defragmentation' of international environmental law. She examines how marine environmental law interacts with other branches of international law and explores the relationship between science and law in the conservation of marine biodiversity.
