Decreto n.º 7/2025

Decreto n.º 7/2025

O Acordo no âmbito da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar relativo à conservação e utilização sustentável da diversidade biológica marinha das áreas além da jurisdição nacional, foi adotado em Nova Iorque, em 19 de junho de 2023.

O referido Acordo é essencial para a implementação dos objetivos de desenvolvimento sustentável (ODS), em particular do ODS 14, inteiramente focado na conservação e uso sustentável do oceano, e é determinante para o cumprimento do compromisso de proteger 30 % do mar até 2030, recentemente reforçado no Quadro Global da Biodiversidade, adotado pela 15.ª Conferência das Partes da Convenção sobre a Diversidade Biológica.

Portugal, enquanto Estado impulsionador de uma governação global do oceano, da sua proteção e uso sustentável e, simultaneamente, detentor de uma área marítima de grandes dimensões, com parte substancial adjacente a áreas além da jurisdição nacional, dispõe de interesses importantes que fundamentam a sua vinculação, estando excluídas do Acordo as matérias respeitantes a definição dos limites de águas territoriais, da zona económica exclusiva e dos direitos de Portugal aos fundos marinhos contíguos.

No plano europeu, a União Europeia e os seus Estados-Membros estão empenhados na rápida ratificação do Acordo para que entre em vigor antes da Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre os Oceanos, que se realizará em Nice, França, em junho de 2025.

Pelas razões enunciadas, a conclusão do processo de vinculação do Estado Português ao presente Acordo assume particular relevância e urgência, importando ainda assinalar a recente Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 106/2024, de 16 de dezembro, em que se recomenda ao Governo que ratifique o designado Tratado do Alto Mar.

Assim:

Nos termos da alínea c) do n.º 1 do artigo 197.º da Constituição, o Governo aprova o seguinte:

Artigo 1.º

Aprovar o Acordo no âmbito da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar relativo à conservação e utilização sustentável da diversidade biológica marinha das áreas além da jurisdição nacional, adotado em Nova Iorque, em 19 de junho de 2023, cujo texto, na versão autenticada em língua inglesa, e respetiva tradução para língua portuguesa, se publica em anexo.

Artigo 2.º

Aprovar a declaração, a depositar juntamente com o instrumento de ratificação, ao abrigo do n.º 1 do artigo 10.º e do artigo 70.º do Acordo no âmbito da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre o Direito do Mar relativo à conservação e utilização sustentável da diversidade biológica marinha das áreas além da jurisdição nacional, adotado em Nova Iorque, em 19 de junho de 2023, com a seguinte redação:

«A República Portuguesa declara, nos termos e para os efeitos do n.º 1 do artigo 10.º e do artigo 70.º do Acordo, que as disposições do Acordo referentes às atividades relacionadas com os recursos genéticos marinhos e à informação de sequências digitais sobre os recursos genéticos marinhos das áreas além da jurisdição nacional não se aplicam aos recursos genéticos marinhos e à informação de sequências digitais sobre os recursos genéticos marinhos das áreas além da jurisdição nacional recolhidos e gerados antes da entrada em vigor do Acordo, sendo exclusivamente aplicáveis a partir da data da sua entrada em vigor.»

Visto e aprovado em Conselho de Ministros de 23 de abril de 2025. - Luís Montenegro - Paulo Artur dos Santos de Castro de Campos Rangel - Pedro Reis - Maria da Graça Carvalho.

Assinado em 29 de abril de 2025.

Publique-se.

O Presidente da República, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Referendado em 30 de abril de 2025.

O Primeiro-Ministro, Luís Montenegro.

Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction

Preamble

The Parties to this Agreement:

Recalling the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982, including the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment;

Stressing the need to respect the balance of rights, obligations and interests set out in the Convention;

Recognizing the need to address, in a coherent and cooperative manner, biological diversity loss and degradation of ecosystems of the ocean, due, in particular, to climate change impacts on marine ecosystems, such as warming and ocean deoxygenation, as well as ocean acidification, pollution, including plastic pollution, and unsustainable use;

Conscious of the need for the comprehensive global regime under the Convention to better address the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

Recognizing the importance of contributing to the realization of a just and equitable international economic order which takes into account the interests and needs of humankind as a whole and, in particular, the special interests and needs of developing States, whether coastal or landlocked;

Recognizing also that support for developing States Parties through capacity-building and the development and transfer of marine technology are essential elements for the attainment of the objectives of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

Recalling the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

Affirming that nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as diminishing or extinguishing the existing rights of Indigenous Peoples, including as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or of, as appropriate, local communities;

Recognizing the obligation set out in the Convention to assess, as far as practicable, the potential effects on the marine environment of activities under a State’s jurisdiction or control when the State has reasonable grounds for believing that such activities may cause substantial pollution of or significant and harmful changes to the marine environment;

Mindful of the obligation set out in the Convention to take all measures necessary to ensure that pollution arising from incidents or activities does not spread beyond the areas where sovereign rights are exercised in accordance with the Convention;

Desiring to act as stewards of the ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction on behalf of present and future generations by protecting, caring for and ensuring responsible use of the marine environment, maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems and conserving the inherent value of biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

Acknowledging that the generation of, access to and utilization of digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction, together with the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from its utilization, contribute to research and innovation and to the general objective of this Agreement;

Respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States;

Recalling that the legal status of non-parties to the Convention or any other related agreements is governed by the rules of the law of treaties;

Recalling also that, as set out in the Convention, States are responsible for the fulfilment of their international obligations concerning the protection and preservation of the marine environment and may be liable in accordance with international law;

Committed to achieving sustainable development;

Aspiring to achieve universal participation;

have agreed as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Use of terms

For the purposes of this Agreement:

1 - ‘‘Area-based management tool’’ means a tool, including a marine protected area, for a geographically defined area through which one or several sectors or activities are managed with the aim of achieving particular conservation and sustainable use objectives in accordance with this Agreement.

2 - ‘‘Areas beyond national jurisdiction’’ means the high seas and the Area.

3 - ‘‘Biotechnology’’ means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.

4 - ‘‘Collection in situ’’, in relation to marine genetic resources, means the collection or sampling of marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

5 - ‘‘Convention’’ means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982.

6 - ‘‘Cumulative impacts’’ means the combined and incremental impacts resulting from different activities, including known past and present and reasonably foreseeable activities, or from the repetition of similar activities over time, and the consequences of climate change, ocean acidification and related impacts.

7 - ‘‘Environmental impact assessment’’ means a process to identify and evaluate the potential impacts of an activity to inform decision-making.

8 - ‘‘Marine genetic resources’’ means any material of marine plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity of actual or potential value.

9 - ‘‘Marine protected area’’ means a geographically defined marine area that is designated and managed to achieve specific long-term biological diversity conservation objectives and may allow, where appropriate, sustainable use provided it is consistent with the conservation objectives.

10 - ‘‘Marine technology’’ includes, inter alia, information and data, provided in a user-friendly format, on marine sciences and related marine operations and services; manuals, guidelines, criteria, standards and reference materials; sampling and methodology equipment; observation facilities and equipment for in situ and laboratory observations, analysis and experimentation; computer and computer software, including models and modelling techniques; related biotechnology; and expertise, knowledge, skills, technical, scientific and legal know-how and analytical methods related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity.

11 - ‘‘Party’’ means a State or regional economic integration organization that has consented to be bound by this Agreement and for which this Agreement is in force.

12 - ‘‘Regional economic integration organization’’ means an organization constituted by sovereign States of a given region to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Agreement and which has been duly authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify, approve, accept or accede to this Agreement.

13 - ‘‘Sustainable use’’ means the use of components of biological diversity in a way and at a rate that does not lead to a long-term decline of biological diversity, thereby maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations.

14 - ‘‘Utilization of marine genetic resources’’ means to conduct research and development on the genetic and/or biochemical composition of marine genetic resources, including through the application of biotechnology, as defined in paragraph 3 above.

Article 2

General objective

The objective of this Agreement is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for the present and in the long term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and further international cooperation and coordination.

Article 3

Scope of application

This Agreement applies to areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Article 4

Exceptions

This Agreement does not apply to any warship, military aircraft or naval auxiliary. Except for Part II, this Agreement does not apply to other vessels or aircraft owned or operated by a Party and used, for the time being, only on government non-commercial service. However, each Party shall ensure, by the adoption of appropriate measures not impairing the operations or operational capabilities of such vessels or aircraft owned or operated by it, that such vessels or aircraft act in a manner consistent, so far as is reasonable and practicable, with this Agreement.

Article 5

Relationship between this Agreement and the Convention and relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies

1 - This Agreement shall be interpreted and applied in the context of and in a manner consistent with the Convention. Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice the rights, jurisdiction and duties of States under the Convention, including in respect of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf within and beyond 200 nautical miles.

2 - This Agreement shall be interpreted and applied in a manner that does not undermine relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies and that promotes coherence and coordination with those instruments, frameworks and bodies.

3 - The legal status of non-parties to the Convention or any other related agreements with regard to those instruments is not affected by this Agreement.

Article 6

Without prejudice

This Agreement, including any decision or recommendation of the Conference of the Parties or any of its subsidiary bodies, and any acts, measures or activities undertaken on the basis thereof, shall be without prejudice to, and shall not be relied upon as a basis for asserting or denying any claims to, sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction, including in respect of any disputes relating thereto.

Article 7

General principles and approaches

In order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement, Parties shall be guided by the following principles and approaches:

(a) The polluter-pays principle;

(b) The principle of the common heritage of humankind which is set out in the Convention;

(c) The freedom of marine scientific research, together with other freedoms of the high seas;

(d) The principle of equity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits;

(e) The precautionary principle or precautionary approach, as appropriate;

(f) An ecosystem approach;

(g) An integrated approach to ocean management;

(h) An approach that builds ecosystem resilience, including to adverse effects of climate change and ocean acidification, and also maintains and restores ecosystem integrity, including the carbon cycling services that underpin the role of the ocean in climate;

(i) The use of the best available science and scientific information;

(j) The use of relevant traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, where available;

(k) The respect, promotion and consideration of their respective obligations, as applicable, relating to the rights of Indigenous Peoples or of, as appropriate, local communities when taking action to address the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

(l) The non-transfer, directly or indirectly, of damage or hazards from one area to another and the non-transformation of one type of pollution into another in taking measures to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment;

(m) Full recognition of the special circumstances of small island developing States and of least developed countries;

(n) Acknowledgement of the special interests and needs of landlocked developing countries.

Article 8

International cooperation

1 - Parties shall cooperate under this Agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, including through strengthening and enhancing cooperation with and promoting cooperation among relevant legal instruments and frameworks and relevant global, regional, subregional and sectoral bodies in the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement.

2 - Parties shall endeavour to promote, as appropriate, the objectives of this Agreement when participating in decision-making under other relevant legal instruments, frameworks, or global, regional, subregional or sectoral bodies.

3 - Parties shall promote international cooperation in marine scientific research and in the development and transfer of marine technology consistent with the Convention in support of the objectives of this Agreement.

PART II

MARINE GENETIC RESOURCES, INCLUDING THE FAIR AND EQUITABLE SHARING OF BENEFITS

Article 9

Objectives

The objectives of this Part are:

(a) The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from activities with respect to marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

(b) The building and development of the capacity of Parties, particularly developing States Parties, in particular the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, geographically disadvantaged States, small island developing States, coastal African States, archipelagic States and developing middle-income countries, to carry out activities with respect to marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction;

(c) The generation of knowledge, scientific understanding and technological innovation, including through the development and conduct of marine scientific research, as fundamental contributions to the implementation of this Agreement;

(d) The development and transfer of marine technology in accordance with this Agreement.

Article 10

Application

1 - The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to activities with respect to marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction collected and generated after the entry into force of this Agreement for the respective Party. The application of the provisions of this Agreement shall extend to the utilization of marine genetic resources and digital sequence information on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction collected or generated before entry into force, unless a Party makes an exception in writing under article 70 when signing, ratifying, approving, accepting or acceding to this Agreement.

2 - The provisions of this Part shall not apply to:

(a) Fishing regulated under relevant international law and fishing-related activities; or