Contribute to a hybrid governance to protect and manage remarkable areas of the high seas: the Thermal Dome and Sargasso Sea (SARGADOM project)

SARGADOM project aims to improve the protection of biodiversity and to maintain ecosystem services in two sensitive high seas areas: the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea, and facilitate the design of hybrid ocean governance models. The Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea are two sites representative of the diversity and importance of high seas ecosystems. They perfectly illustrate the fact that ecological limits (such as the interconnectivity of ecosystems) do not correspond to the legal delimitations established by UNCLOS. They are dynamic systems, which move, shrink, and expand with currents and winds. The two sites are mainly located beyond national jurisdiction on the high seas, but may “encroach” permanently, regularly or from time to time on EEZs that are under the jurisdiction of States. The strategy proposed by the project is based on a DPSIR (Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) analysis for each site, and an analysis of the current governance of the two sites and potential improvements, which will lead to the development of proposals to improve the governance and to agree to the establishment of appropriate conservation and management measures for the sites. It is hoped that the results of this work will help inform the implementation of future agreements on other high seas areas that wish to design area-based management tools (ABMTs). The knowledge gained will also support the development of agreements and action plans for the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea. The project structure includes: i) A Steering Committee (project partners, Co-donors, representatives of the Advisory Board of Experts and key allies), which will oversee the overall strategic implementation of the initiative and the development of the operational components; ii) An Advisory Board of Experts to provide scientific and legal support to the implementation of activities; iii) Implementation teams at both sites (project managers, methodological coordinator, capacity building officer and technical experts from the main implementing partners and external consultants). The expected outcomes of the project are different for the two study sites. For the Thermal Dome, it is a set of multisectoral proposals for the governance and regulation of the high seas, with emphasis on fisheries and navigation, which will be presented to the UN stakeholders by interested Governments. For the Sargasso Sea Commission, it will be a Strategic Action Programme submitted for approval to key stakeholders including the Signatories of the Hamilton Declaration.