Abstract

Effective administration of the worldwide ocean amidst accelerating societal and environmental shifts relies on adequate scientific understanding that elucidates the complexities of changing aquatic ecosystems. The expansive and isolated Ocean Twilight Zone (OTZ) management is significantly hindered by inadequate information. Conventional biodiversity monitoring techniques cannot scale economically or successfully to bridge these knowledge spaces, necessitating the adoption of innovative technologies to guide policy. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has rapidly emerged as a pivotal method for ocean conservation, poised to significantly influence biodiversity preservation in oceanic transboundary zones and elevate sea governance overall. The research thoroughly examines scientific and policy research, alongside an analysis of current global marine biodiversity information, to elucidate the significance of biodiversity protection in the OTZ, identify existing knowledge gaps, and describe recent advancements in eDNA and OTZ biodiversity studies. The research delineates the essential elements of an eDNA architecture requisite for OTZ biodiversity tracking and examines the policy ramifications pertinent to the current Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Accord. The research demonstrates that a cohesive science-policy framework grounded in transdisciplinary eDNA study is crucial for attaining sustainability in the OTZ and the 35x35 objective for preserving ocean biodiversity.

Keywords: Environmental DNA, Ocean, Biodiversity, Environment