Rational use of biological resources in the context of achieving sustainable development goals: an international legal dimension

The article is dedicated to the study of the evolution of the international legal concept of "sustainable use of biological resources" in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The author analyzes the transformation of approaches from the concept of non-depleting nature management and the principle of "common heritage of mankind" to the modern model based on state sovereignty over biological resources and their responsibility for preserving biodiversity. The work discusses key international agreements that shape the architecture of legal regulation: the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, which established the concept of "sustainable use," the 2001 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the 2023 Agreement on the Ocean. Special attention is paid to the correlation of environmental legal norms with SDGs 14 and 15, as well as the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity. The methodological basis of the study is based on a set of general scientific and specific legal methods of cognition. The dialectical method allowed for the examination of the evolution of the concept of sustainable use of biological resources in dynamics, while the systemic-structural method was applied to analyze the architecture of international agreements as a unified system providing legal regulation in the field of sustainable development. Based on the analysis of doctrinal approaches and regulatory acts, the conclusion is drawn about the expansion of the content of the concept of "sustainable use," which, at the current stage of social development, includes not only the ecological but also the socio-economic component (fair distribution of benefits, access to technology), as well as the existence of contradictions between traditional principles of freedom of the high seas and new governance mechanisms, such as marine protected areas, in cases of manifest unfair competition when used by some states as a tool to restrict the activities of others. The author concludes that in modern international law, sustainable use of biological resources serves as a tool for balancing economic interests, ecological safety, and the rights of future generations, marking a transition to an eco-centric paradigm of legal regulation.