Emergency Marine Protected Areas Under the BBNJ Agreement: A Feasible Solution for Emergencies in ABNJ?

An emergency marine protected area (EMPA) refers to a type of area-based management tool (ABMT) designated on an interim basis with immediate effect, pending the establishment of formal marine protected areas (MPAs). The marine environment is currently under an increasing threat of abrupt extreme events. However, formal MPAs are not an ideal tool to render an emergency response owing to their time-consuming procedures for adoption and hindrance from competing interests. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international agreements cannot provide a comprehensive solution to combat various unforeseeable extreme events. Facing this situation, the development of an EMPA is proposed. The BBNJ Agreement includes an article providing for emergency measures in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). It concludes that establishing EMPAs could be an effective solution to marine environmental emergencies. The new Agreement offers hope for implementing EMPAs in ABNJ. In addition, EMPAs are expected to play an important role in ecosystem recovery after climatic extreme events in a timely and flexible manner in the context of climate change.