The Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) provide a unique setting from both a geographic (remoteness, surface area, depth) and legal (international status, different regimes applying to the high seas and the area, regime relying on the freedom principle) point of views. It houses unique, rich and particularly vulnerable ecosystems such as seamounts and hydrothermal vents.
Fishing and deep‐sea mining are the two human activities that represent the two major potential threats to these ecosystems, and there is no legal framework to manage these exceptional areas in a sustainable way.
In this context, IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme (GMPP) is leading projects on conservation and sustainable exploitation of seamount and hydrothermal vent ecosystems of the South West Indian Ocean in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.