On Saturday, a historic international agreement to protect high seas biodiversity went into force, giving nations a legally enforceable framework to address challenges like overfishing and achieve the goal of protecting 30% of the ocean ecosystem by 2030.
After 15 years of discussions, the U.N. treaty known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) was concluded in March 2023.
It would permit the establishment of a global network of “marine protected areas” in large, hitherto unregulated ocean ecosystems located in international waters.
“It’s two-thirds of the ocean, and it’s half the surface of the planet that for the first time will have a comprehensive legal regime,” stated Adam McCarthy, co-chair of the treaty’s preparatory committee and first assistant secretary at the Australian foreign ministry, during a press conference.
On September 19 of last year, the pact reached the threshold of 60 country ratifications, indicating that it will formally enter into effect in 120 days.
Since then, China, Brazil, and Japan have added their names to the list, bringing the total number of ratifications to over 80.
Others are expected to follow shortly, including Australia and Britain. The deal was signed by the US during the previous administration, but it hasn’t been ratified yet.
Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of environmental organizations, stated,
“While we only needed 60 for it to enter into force, obviously, it’s really critical for its implementation and for it to be as effective as possible for us to achieve global or universal ratification of the treaty.”
“We’re really aiming for all UN member states to ratify the treaty.”
Countries are required by the treaty to carry out environmental assessments of operations that affect ocean ecology.
Additionally, it will establish systems that let countries split the profits from the “blue economy,” including “marine genetic resources” that are utilized in sectors like biotechnology.
According to environmentalists, the “30 by 30” goal of formally protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 would need the creation of more than 190,000 protected areas.
Only roughly 8% of the area, or 29 million square kilometers (11.2 million square miles), is currently protected.
However, the call to extract mineral resources from the ocean floor, which some conservationists consider to be one of the biggest threats to the marine ecosystem, will not be much impacted by the deal.
“BBNJ is very ambitious, but there are certain defined limits,” McCarthy stated.
“The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is solely responsible for the issue of mining in the seabed or substrate. The BBNJ does not play a part in it.
