Landmark High Seas Treaty Set to Become International Law Next Year

 

Last week, the landmark Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) high seas treaty reached the milestone of 60 state ratifications, which is the threshold needed for its entry into force. The threshold was achieved after the final four countries submitted their ratification instruments during the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York. The countries include St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Morocco.

The legislation, also referred to as the High Seas Treaty, will be legally activated from January 17, 2026. The treaty was adopted by the United Nations in June 2023 following nearly two decades of negotiations.

The BBNJ agreement for the first time creates a global legal mechanism to set up large marine protected zones in the high seas areas, outside of any country’s jurisdiction. The high seas cover almost two-thirds of the oceans and have been largely ungoverned. Unfortunately, this has led to overexploitation of this global commons, with rising pollution and overfishing.

As the first legally binding international agreement for the high seas, the BBNJ treaty provides tools to halt biodiversity loss and ocean degradation. Most importantly, the legislation creates a path for nations to achieve the goal of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. Currently, just one percent of international waters is protected.

Worth noting is also the fact that BBNJ agreement becomes the first law to regulate use of marine genetic resources (MGRs) in international waters. This has been a major gap in global ocean governance under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). In other words, before BBNJ, genetic materials sourced from either international seabed or international waters were arguably owned by no one, opening them up to exploitation.

“While sharing the spoils of genetic resources was the most contentious issue for states to agree on in getting this landmark deal over the line, it is not where this new law will flex its muscles. Its greatest power, to my mind, lies in its ability to protect, as much as possible, the wonders of the high seas - those places far offshore, such as the White Shark Café, the Costa Rica Thermal Dome, the Gakkel Ridge and countless others,” said science journalist Dr. Olive Heffernan, who is also the author of The High Seas book.