• Connectivity is critical to delivering on the goals and targets
of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• A new study and online tool (the Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean system, MiCO) provide the first global snapshot of marine migratory connectivity.
• Connectivity in the marine realm is better addressed by measures of functional connectivity, not the structural connectivity measures that are used in terrestrial areas.
• Connectivity metrics exist for the marine realm and for migratory species and these should be prioritised for inclusion in the GBF monitoring framework.

Using records from the largest data repository of observations of marine species, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System, this brief describes our understanding of the scope of our current taxonomic knowledge of “biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction”.

The ocean is dynamic and interconnected, from the surface to the seafloor and from the coasts to the high seas. This connectivity plays a critical role in healthy ocean functions. Connectivity can be measured or estimated in different ways and is an important consideration for the design and implementation of area based
management tools, environmental impact assessments and strategic
environmental assessments.

Several countries have expressed an interest in the question of whether States could properly assert priority over the conservation of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) adjacent to their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). In this brief we begin a discussion of the legal, ecological and social aspects of adjacency.

A new international legally binding instrument is intended to address conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction as a whole.  This policy brief explores some potential avenues for strengthening the overall framework beyond the package deal elements.