Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction: Implementing Part IV

Overview

This is a consultation regarding implementation of Part IV of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement concerning Environmental Impact Assessments in the high seas.

The Scottish Government is looking for evidence on potential activities taking place in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) known as the high seas (beyond 200 nautical miles) and is seeking views on proposed amendments to the marine licensing regime under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (MSA) to implement Part IV of the BBNJ Agreement on environmental impact assessments (EIA) in respect of Scottish projects/actors.

This DEFRA-led consultation includes the Scottish Government’s proposals and seeks views on proposed updates to the division of licensing responsibilities for activities in ABNJ between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Scottish Ministers. 

We are seeking information on marine activities in ABNJ including:

• what activities are taking place in ABNJ currently, and what activities may take place in ABNJ in future
• who is carrying out, or likely to carry out, these activities and what is their connection to the UK and Scotland
• evidence on likely impacts of these activities

We are keen to hear your views on what you think about proposed legislative changes to implement the EIA Part of the BBNJ Agreement as it applies to licensable marine activities, including:

• proposals to extend marine licensing to additional activities in ABNJ
• proposals for exemptions for activities in ABNJ
• proposals for activity-specific regulatory approaches 
• proposals for the application process and guidance for regulating activities in ABNJ