12/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - International agreement on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. On Tuesday 12 April, the European Parliament adopted the decision taken by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to develop an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). It highlights the importance of making swift yet careful progress in developing this new instrument and of achieving the aim of finalising the draft text by the end of 2017. (LC)