
Exploring hybrid ocean governance in the high seas for the Sargasso Sea and the Thermal Dome
THE RESEARCH PROJECT
The ‘SARGADOM’ project focuses on two remarkable high seas sites – the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic (‘SARGA’) and the Thermal Dome in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (‘DOM’). The aim of the project is to contribute to the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and to facilitate the development of hybrid ocean governance approaches for the two sites.
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High Seas symposium Edinburgh
SARGADOM team will attend the ‘High Seas Treaty Symposium – from negotiation to implementation’ on 6-7 October 2023 in Edinburgh, UK.

PSSA Workshop
3 days Workshop in Costa Rica, 13-15 November 2023, on the designation of Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) on the High Seas.

Observers report live from the ISA Council
The International Seabed Authority is an International Organization based in Kingston. And it is under high pressure!
Its July negotiations on a Mining Code allowing the exploitation of seabed mineral resources just started.

Second Advisory Board in Gland, Switzerland
After two days of fruitful discussion during the ABMTs in ABNJ workshop organized by IUCN & OFB with group discussion using a fictive site the transition was just right for the SARGADOM steering committee.

IUCN High Seas ABMTs workshop
End of June, the SARGADOM project hosted its second steering committee meeting in conjunction with the IUCN high seas ABMTs workshop in Gland, Switzerland.
Number of states
that have signed the BBNJ treaty to date





























The Objective
With SARGADOM, we want to improve the protection of biodiversity and to maintain ecosystem services in these two sensitive high seas areas and facilitate the design of hybrid ocean governance models. We think that is the only way to make the BBNJ treaty not simply a goodwill declaration, but a real and productive tool to govern and protect the high seas. We want to contribute to the UN negotiations – but, more than that, we want to be ready to contribute to the implementation phase of the BBNJ treaty.
The Sargasso Sea and the Thermal Dome provide illustrative examples of the value of high seas ecosystems, as well as highlighting the barriers to their protection.