The Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Program (ABNJ) – often referred to as Common
Oceans – is a broad-scale, innovative approach to achieve efficient and sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of any one country.
Seeking to generate a catalytic change the Global sustainable fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Program, was approved
by the Council of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in November 2011. The Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the coordinating agency in close collaboration with two other GEF implementing agencies, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Bank, as well as other partners. and executing partners, including RFMOs, industry, and NGOs.
Focusing on tuna and deep-sea fisheries, in parallel with the conservation of biodiversity, the ABNJ Program aims to promote efficient and sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in ABNJ to achieve the global targets agreed in international fora.
The five-year ABNJ Program is an innovative, unique and comprehensive initiative working
with a variety of partners. It is made of four projects which bring together governments,
regional management bodies, civil society, the private sector, academia and industry to
work towards ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of ABNJ biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The programme website is here