Extreme Environments: Emerging from Ocean into Outer Space Regulation - introducing Ocean-Space Sustainability

[EN] The objective of this chapter is to analyse the contributions that the regulation of the so-called 'marine areas beyond national jurisdiction' under the recently approved Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1994) provide to ocean sustainability regulation by including for the first time in the history of the law of the sea participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). Moreover, another objective is to analyse whether this Agreement may inform outer space global commons (SGC) regulation. Marine areas beyond national jurisdiction include the high seas and the Area. The high seas are mainly those waters outside the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Area includes the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. These areas constitute the Ocean Global Commons (OGC). The International Seabed Authority (ISA) was established under UNCLOS to administer the mineral resources of the Area. These mineral resources form a great depth or at hydrothermal vents, so in environments that can be considered extremes, characterised by harsh and challenging conditions that are typically beyond the tolerance limits of most organisms. Neither UNCLOS nor ISA regulations refer to IPLC¿s. The analysis in this chapter is made from an ocean-centred perspective, as opposed to the anthropocentric one, which is usually dominant in the law of the sea. Some critical linguistic considerations regarding the BBNJ Agreement are introduced based on the critical environmental law method. Conclusions show that IPLC¿s participation is widely included in the BBNJ Agreement. However, the final decision power relies on States. Therefore, participation of IPLC¿s is regarded as a mere procedural guarantee, the BBNJ introduces an incomplete knowledge integration, not a space of co-creation of knowledge.Moreover, the rights of nature (RoN) perspective has not been included. However, this perspective may be considered by the Conference of the Parties (COP) when implementing the Agreement. On the other hand, SGC regulation is outdated. There is no international organisation granting mining permits to mine the SGC, and as a consequence, some States have started granting these permits. May OGC regulation inform SGC regulation?