Walking the talk: voluntary actions on marine protected areas on the high seas

Jiliang Chen; Constantinos Yiallourides; Joseph Maina

doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00181-6

Walking the talk: voluntary actions on marine protected areas on the high seas

Jiliang Chen^*, Constantinos Yiallourides, Joseph Maina

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Consensus-building in multilateral sectoral organizations can be crucial to the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the high seas. While the consensus procedure can be abused to block collective decisions, the obligation-alone nature of MPAs allows states to observe those MPA proposals voluntarily without undermining formal negotiations. When implemented collectively in particular scenarios, such actions can deliver cumulative conservation efforts and alter the political dynamics to complement decision-making.

Original language	English
Article number	14
Pages (from-to)	1-5
Number of pages	5
Journal	NPJ Ocean Sustainability
Volume	5
Issue number	1
Early online date	19 Jan 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00181-6
Publication status	Published - 17 Feb 2026

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Copyright the Author(s) 2026. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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Walking the talk: voluntary actions on marine protected areas on the high seas

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