Research On Environmental Impact Assessment System Of Marine Biodiversity Of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction(referred to as BBNJ)is a resource shared by all countries,however,in the past decades,due to the growing commercial interests of the area outside the national jurisdiction(referred to as ABNJ),human activities in this area have expanded from traditional fishing and shipping activities to bioprospecting and deep seabed Complex emerging activities such as mining,and marine scientific research,which directly leads to the loss of marine biodiversity.Before the negotiation of the international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(referred to as UNCLOS)on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction,the existing legal framework did not properly address the issues of protection of BBNJ,as a result,the environmental quality of ABNJ has deteriorated.For this reason,it is urgent to improve the environmental impact assessment system of BBNJ and regulate the activities that affect BBNJ.The environmental impact assessment system is an important tool for environmental management in the world.This article focuses on the current legal framework and legal issues of BBNJ,so as to summarize the specific path to improve the BBNJ environmental assessment system,and provide ideas for China to participate in BBNJ governance.The first part discusses the background of the topic selection in this article,and analyzes the current research situation of BBNJ EIA system at home and abroad.The second part sorts out related theories and work practices.The third part analyzes the current legal framework.The fourth part interprets the problems existing in the legal framework at this stage and the problems that need to be solved in the next step of the international legally binding instrument under the UNCLOS.The fifth part is based on the perfect path of the system and China’s response.As one of the global ocean governance arrangements,the BBNJ environmental impact assessment system will largely regulate the development and utilization in ABNJ.On the one hand,the main bodies of governance at different levels of ABNJ are doing their own thing.On the other hand,most international instruments use ambiguous terms such as “as much as possible” and “reasonable reasons” to define EIA obligations.A small number of regional instruments applicable to ABNJ cover a limited geographical area,and instruments aimed at sectors such as fisheries are insufficiently implemented because of a lack of human and financial resources.To this end,the implementation of the BBNJ EIA system should implement the relevant principles of international environmental law and improve the multi-level governance structure in the new UNCLOS implementation agreement;promote the organic integration of strategic EIA and environmental impact assessment;strengthen the technical support of cumulative EIA;in the EIA process Concretely consider the impact of climate change;refine specific mechanisms such as EIA reports,baseline studies,and monitoring;establish an independent and diversified scientific consulting agency;and improve the system of stakeholder participation.In addition,China’s active participation in the formulation of the BBNJ environmental impact assessment system and its future improvement work is of great significance for enhancing international influence and will also make the concept of a community of human destiny more popular.