The High Seas Treaty, officially known as the Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, has reached a critical milestone. Just two years after opening for signature in September 2023, it has secured the 60 ratifications needed for its entry into force.
In the third of week of September, four new countries — Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone and Morocco — ratified the treaty, helping it reach the 60 milestone. The treaty will enter into force in 120 days on January 17, 2026.
BBNJ is an international treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994, UNCLOS establishes a comprehensive regime of law and order for the world’s oceans, establishing rules for the allocation of States’ rights and jurisdiction in maritime spaces, the peaceful use of the oceans and the management of their resources.
The BBNJ treaty is aimed at ensuring the conservation and sustainable utilisation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, which are areas beyond 200 nautical miles from the exclusive economic zones of coastal countries.
“This historic moment is the culmination of years of dedication and global diplomacy by governments and stakeholders,” Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, said in a statement. “The High Seas Treaty is a powerful testament to multilateralism — showing what the world can achieve when we come together for the common good for our ocean, which covers more than 70 per cent of the planet. Today marks an important step when promises start becoming action.”
The treaty aims to increase the percentage of marine protected areas (MPA) on the high seas. An MPA is a defined region set aside for the long-term conservation of marine resources, ecosystems services, or cultural heritage. Currently, 6.35 per cent of the ocean is protected, but only just over 1.89 per cent is covered by exclusively no-take MPAs (that do not allow any fishing, mining, drilling, or other extractive activities), according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The treaty will also ensure that profits from marine genetic resources (MGR) — materials of plant, animal or microbes — are shared equitably and fairly. MGR find applications in medicine and pharmaceuticals.
Additionally, the treaty provides ground rules for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), which deal with identifying and evaluating the potential impacts an activity could have on the ocean. Carbon sequestration activities or deep-sea mining, for example, will have to do EIA.
So far, 143 countries, including India, have signed the treaty, signalling their intent to ratify it. Hubbard urged remaining nations to join the historic Agreement ahead of the first Conference of Parties (COP).
More ratifications are expected during the upcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Week in New York, which begins September 22, 2025.
Meanwhile, nations have met for two Preparatory Commission or PrepCom meetings to develop rules needed to implement the agreement and set the stage for COP1. The sessions focused on governance issues, issues pertaining to the operation of the Clearing-House Mechanism, and financial rules, and financial resources and mechanism.