Sophie Gambardella

Sophie Gambardella is a legal researcher at the CNRS and a member of the Centre for International and Community Studies and Research (CERIC) team at UMR 7318 - International, Comparative and European Law at Aix-Marseille University. Her research focuses specifically on the international management of marine biological resources. Most of her work converges on a reflection on the “defragmentation” of international environmental law. Her aim is to reflect on how marine environmental law interacts with other branches of international law, and to consider the relationship between science and law in the field of marine biodiversity conservation.

Project 

Title: ZONABYSSES

In addition to current uses of the deep sea (fishing, laying cables and pipelines, oil and gas exploitation, and marine genetic resources), new uses will be added in the future (mining, geoengineering, geothermal energy), each of which, individually or collectively, could have a detrimental effect on the marine environment. In recent years, ocean law has developed numerous legal tools for protecting the marine environment through zoning, which could be used in this context to reduce the impact of these human activities on the marine environment. The ZONABYSSES project therefore aims to list the various tools for protecting the marine environment through zoning, whether marine protected areas or other area-based conservation measures, and then to examine their scientific and social relevance in terms of conservation objectives, using an ecosystem approach to the deep sea. The first step will be to map and categorize 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 objectives. The research will focus on the deep sea beyond areas of national jurisdiction (including the high seas and the Area), i.e., where international governance of these areas is currently being developed.

Institutions: CNRS - CERIC

Selection of publications

• S. Gambardella, P. Ricard, S. Martini, C. Marc et M. Bellinghery, Profondeurs : Les secrets des grands fonds marins, CNRS Editions 2025.
• S. Gambardella, « L’exploitation commerciale des fonds marins et de leur sous-sol : un jeu d’ombre et de lumière », AFDI, 2024
• S. Gambardella, « Les activités de pêche dans les grands fonds marins : perspectives juridiques », Numéro spécial de La Revue Maritime, 2024.
• S. Gambardella, « L’avènement de la géo-ingénierie climatique appliquée aux océans : un chemin de Charybde en Scylla pour le droit international de l’environnement », Marion Lemoine et Alexandra Langlais, (Dirs.), Quel droit face aux ingénieries climatiques ?, Grenoble, UGA Eds, 2024
• S. Gambardella, « Une approche juridique des conflits d’usage liés aux activités de pêche en haute mer », in Ricard (P.) Dir., Conflits d’usage en mer : Regards croisés sur la nécessaire conciliation entre activités humaines dans les eaux européennes, Paris, Pedone, 2023.