How are the CBD scientific criteria applied with depth?
Consideration of depth is important in applying the EBSA criteria. As the marine environment is a three-dimensional environment, depth, directly related to physical pressure and many other relevant environmental factors, is an important vector influencing marine life. Depth is implicitly taken into account in the network level criteria “Representativity” (CBD Decision IX/20, Annex II). According to the 2009 CBD Ottawa Expert Workshop (see www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ewbcsima-01/official/ewbcsima-01-01-en.pdf), the benthic and pelagic systems should be considered both separately and as an interacting system, interaction that undoubtedly tracks and changes with depth of the ocean. However, due to practical reasons and for purposes of simpler management, regulatory authorities often collapse this complexity and choose to treat all depths and the bottom together.
