With most of the attention on coastal areas, the open oceans and deep seas have long been neglected. Through recent decades of scientific research, the richness of biological diversity of the high seas—marine areas that lie beyond national jurisdiction—has been unveiled and the importance of its conservation recognised.
In 2008, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted seven scientific criteria for identifying ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) in need of protection in the open oceans and deep seas. Helping countries, as well as regional and global organisations, to use and develop data, tools and methodologies to identify these EBSAs in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction is the aim of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI).
Established in late 2008, GOBI is a growing international scientific partnership facilitated by IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme with core support from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Today, GOBI comprises 16 scientific partners worldwide. It seeks to provide guidance on how the seven scientific criteria can be interpreted and applied as well as help organisations and relevant stakeholders in the development of regional analyses.