In 2018, the international community began formal intergovernmental negotiations over a new legally binding instrument for the protection of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Protecting marine biodiversity is imperative for a sustainable future, and all the different organizations and agreements will have to work together to achieve this common goal. One of the first key principles to be agreed was to “not undermine” the existing legal instruments or mandates of regional and sectoral marine governance organizations. While fisheries are not being discussed during the negotiations, a marine biodiversity agreement is likely to still impact regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), due to overlapping areas of interest. This article aims to firstly, assess the potential constraints posed by the commitment to “not undermine”; secondly, consider how aspects of the biodiversity agreement, such as area‐based management and environmental impact assessments, might enhance RFMOs; and thirdly, suggest meaningful ways to ensure cooperation between RFMOs and the marine biodiversity agreement.

中文翻译：

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区域渔业管理组织和新的生物多样性协议：挑战还是机遇？

2018 年，国际社会开始就一项新的具有法律约束力的新文书进行正式的政府间谈判，以保护国家管辖范围以外区域的海洋生物多样性。保护海洋生物多样性对于可持续的未来至关重要，所有不同的组织和协议都必须共同努力以实现这一共同目标。要商定的首要关键原则之一是“不破坏”区域和部门海洋治理组织的现有法律文书或任务。虽然谈判期间并未讨论渔业问题，但由于利益领域重叠，海洋生物多样性协议可能仍会影响区域渔业管理组织 (RFMO)。本文旨在首先，评估“不破坏”承诺带来的潜在限制；其次，考虑生物多样性协议的各个方面，例如基于区域的管理和环境影响评估，可能会如何加强区域渔业管理组织；第三，提出有意义的方法来确保区域渔业管理组织与海洋生物多样性协定之间的合作。