In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly decided, by a unanimous resolution, to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdictions. For this purpose, a Preparatory Committee and an Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group were established to study the overlapping issues and to prepare a draft text for consideration in the future. With this background, this book is an important and timely contribution to the development of the law of the sea for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity. The book provides eight chapters and six appendices covering those aspects of biodiversity conservation outside the Boundary Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). The author's extraordinary effort, zeal, and vision present a balanced analysis of the issues relating to biodiversity and the marine environment and proposes future actions to regulate the BBNJ.

The book includes a prologue to marine conservation, especially within BBNJ under international law. It then discusses the promises and limits of the legal protection of the BBNJ, given a new proposal to develop an ILBI; the adoption of Grotian doctrine in lawmaking for the BBNJ; conceptual analysis on proposed ILBIs to deal with the BBNJ; an application of area-based management tools in marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction; compliance with environmental impact assessments in the BBNJ; regulation of marine genetic resources; and implementation of capacity building and technology transfer. Finally, it concludes with valuable remarks and suggestions for the prospects of ILBIs for the conservation and sustainable use of the BBNJ. The prospect of adopting an ILBI has been outlined based on the political will of sovereign states balancing their competing interests in the protection, conservation, and sustainable use of the BBNJ.

The author, Sarah Lothian, a renowned lecturer and barrister from Australia, has thoroughly investigated the regulatory, governance, and institutional framework for the BBNJ under existing international law. The book is unique among contemporary academic contributions such as Alexander Gillespie's Conservation, Biodiversity and International Law. Because of its unique structure and scope, in-depth analysis, and authentic suggestions for better regulation and management of the marine environment as “Global Commons”, this book will be a great help to the scholars, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in the law of the sea and the protection of the biodiversity of the marine environment.