The regional approach to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction

The development of regional initiatives for the protection of the environment is a cornerstone of international environmental policies. With regard to marine and coastal issues, this regionalisation has mainly been taking place through regional seas programmes and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. Some regional initiatives and organisations have progressively extended their activities to areas beyond national jurisdiction. This paper aims at analysing these recent developments, highlighting their interests and challenges, and proposing options to strengthen the efficiency of regional actions in these areas. It also highlights the need to consider the global discussions on a possible new global agreement and the development of regional actions as two interconnected processes. •Regional initiatives have recently developed in areas beyond national jurisdiction.•They advance the governance of these areas while the global discussions are on-going.•They however face many challenges, which should be tackled.•Global discussions and regional actions are two interconnected processes.