COVID-19 and the BBNJ negotiations

MARIPOLDATA is an ERC Starting Grant project running from November 2018 to October 2023. A research team led by the Principal Investigator Assoc. Prof. Mag. Dr. Alice Vadrot develops and applies a new interdisciplinary and multi-scale approach to study new forms of power at the intersection between science, and politics. The project uses ongoing negotiations on a new inter-national legally binding instrument under the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) to study these processes in action. The rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to quarantine measures worldwide and resulted in the cancellation or postponement of a significant number of global meetings. The fourth conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Instrument) - was no exception. It is not yet known when it will take place. This greatly affected the international agenda and strategies set for the ocean in 2020. One important pillar of MARIPOLDATA is to investigate the negotiations of a new legally-binding treaty under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, aiming to protect marine biodiversity based on collaborative event ethnography. Since conducting field research (WP1) was impossible, the MARIPOLDATA team developed a survey in May 2020 to assess how the COVID-19 outbreak affects the various parties working on the BBNJ Treaty, and its impacts on the activities carried out towards the conclusion of an agreement. This study targeted all actors interested or actively working on the BBNJ Treaty. Any answers provided were confidential and resulted in a publication in Global Environmental Politics and a special report summing up the findings. This report presents the MARIPOLDATA Corona Survey results from a geographical angle, exploring how respondents from different continents are affected by the COVID-19 situation and estimate its effect on the BBNJ process. The data was gathered via an online survey conducted shortly after the peak of the COVID-19 related lockdown in Europe, between May 04 and May 26 2020, using the formr framework for online surveys (Arslan, Walther, and Tata 2020). The objective was to obtain a representative sample of all stakeholders involved in BBNJ negotiations, such as government representatives, Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs), Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs), business/industry representatives, research institutes/universities, as well as UN Staff and Media. In total, 366 persons were contacted, 709 accessed the survey site, and 105 completed the questionnaire. This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant No 804599).{https://www.maripoldata.eu/research/#survey}

digital diplomacy

COVID-19

BBNJ

digital ethnography

global environmental politics

multilateral diplomacy

marine biodiversity negotiations

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his work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’sHorizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant 804599). The research presented is part ofthe ERC project MARIPOLDATA (https://www.maripoldata.eu/), led by Alice Vadrot.

This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant 804599). The research presented is part ofthe ERC project MARIPOLDATA (https://www.maripoldata.eu/), led by Alice Vadrot.

European Research Council