Marine biodiversity in international waters finally protected by UN treaty

After nearly two decades of talks, UN delegates have reached an historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters. The legally-binding pact will conserve and ensure the sustainable use of ocean biodiversity within the world’s ‘high seas’, which fall outside national waters.

The agreement reached by delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, known as BBNJ, is the culmination of talks that began in 2004. "The ship has reached the shore," conference chairwoman Rena Lee said, as she announced the completion of the historic agreement.

Ocean ecosystems produce half the oxygen we breathe, account for 95% of the planet’s biosphere, and soak up carbon dioxide as the world’s largest carbon sink. Until now, however, inadequate protective legislation has meant that high seas areas are more susceptible to exploitation than coastal waters.

Already being referred to as the ‘High Seas Treaty’, the legal framework creates rules around conservation and the fair distribution of marine genetic resources (MGR). MGR includes deep-sea marine sponges, krill, corals, seaweeds and bacteria, which are attracting commercial and scientific attention for their potential uses in medicines and cosmetics.

The treaty also establishes a conference of parties (COP) that will meet periodically to discuss issues and hold member states to account on matters such as governance and biodiversity.

It is also hoped that the treaty will play a critical role in enforcing the 30x30 pledge made by countries at the UN biodiversity conference in December 2022, which seeks to protect a third of the world’s seas and land by 2030.

“What happens on the high seas will no longer be ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” said Jessica Battle of WWF in a statement after leading the group’s team at the negotiations. “We can now look at the cumulative impacts on our ocean in a way that reflects the interconnected blue economy and the ecosystems that support it.”

Further reading

• More on the BBNJ