Starting in 2018, the MARIPOLDATA base has systematically cataloged observations covering the entire Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiations until their conclusion in June 2023. By providing primary data on the whole negotiation process, the MARIPOLDATA base supports empirical, scholarly work on diverse aspects of international marine biodiversity politics. This research note presents the database, its key features, and how it can be used to trace and map the BBNJ process. Drawing on examples from our own research, we show how we used these data—on actors and alliances, statement length, agreement text, positions, networks, statements, concepts, and meeting formats—to analyze various aspects of agreement-making. We note that our database has specific value for researchers who, in the past, struggled to access the BBNJ negotiations as well as for scholars who wish to follow marine biodiversity negotiations in the future. By facilitating the use of primary negotiation data, the MARIPOLDATA base structure and content support both broad research areas and specific research questions. We conclude by proposing a methodological shift in the study of global environmental negotiations echoing recent attempts to elevate the ethical standards, data quality, political stakes, and critical reflection on the future of global environmental meetings and their role in global environmental politics (GEP) research.

Measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic have indefinitely postponed in-person formal international negotiations for a new legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). As a result, online initiatives have emerged to keep informal dialogue ongoing among both state and nonstate actors. To continue our research on the BBNJ process, we adapted our methodology and conducted a survey in May 2020 exploring the impact of COVID-19 on respondents’ BBNJ-related work and communication. This research note identifies online initiatives and communication channels set up to maintain negotiation momentum and examines the challenges and opportunities of digital diplomacy for multilateral environmental agreement making, as well as the study thereof. We discuss future avenues for global environmental politics research and conclude that digital ethnographies provide an entry point to study some of these dynamics but need to be adapted to the study of negotiation settings and the specific context of multilateral environmental diplomacy.