{
  "abstract": "Marine ecosystems face increasing threats, yet legal protections often fail due to fragmented enforcement and a lack of monitoring tools. While qualitative assessments exist, systematic comparisons of policy effectiveness remain elusive. Here, we present an AI-powered legal observatory quantifying marine environmental law enforcement across 15 French-speaking African coastal states. Analyzing seven key prohibitions, including plastic bags, bottom trawling, and oil discharges, reveals stark disparities. Although 92% of states ban plastic bags, only 38% impose penalties. Coastal sand extraction is restricted in just 40% of these countries, with significant gaps in operational sanctions and monitoring. By integrating empirical legal indicators with machine learning, we demonstrate how AI automates cross-country comparisons, identifies enforcement weaknesses, and tracks policy evolution over time. This approach provides a replicable framework for dynamic, data-driven marine governance, essential for tackling transboundary challenges like climate change and biodiversity erosion.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Marie Bonnin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Youssef Al Mouatamid"
    },
    {
      "name": "Margot Perdereau"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chaymae Kaouri"
    },
    {
      "name": "Youness Taissir"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sebastien Hervé"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adrien Comte"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sophie Lanco"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jihad Zahir"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/epahs4eqk2341.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s44183-026-00221-1",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00221-1",
  "id": "epahs4eqk2341",
  "issns": [
    "2731-426X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05823917v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
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      "openalex",
      "2308|Coastal and Marine Management"
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  "openalex": "W7166539512",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05823917/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-06-01",
  "publisher": "Nature",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/epahs4eqk2341.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:59Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05823917",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05823917v1"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:45:46Z",
      "native_id": "808b1a101b144c42a3d5a41c25e9ab88",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00221-1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "hal:0.sde",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    },
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "hal:2.sdu.stu.oc",
      "subfield": "oceanography"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Leveraging AI to objectively analyze legal frameworks protecting the marine environment: a focus on enforced bans",
  "title_text": "Leveraging AI to objectively analyze legal frameworks protecting the marine environment: a focus on enforced bans",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:46Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/epahs4eqk2341",
  "venue": "npj Ocean Sustainability",
  "versions": []
}