UN welcomes ratification of ocean biodiversity protection agreement – JURIST
UN experts welcomed on Thursday the ratification of the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), first adopted on 19 June 2023.
This ratification is a significant advancement in the conservation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change both hailed the ratification of the agreement by 69 States, describing it as a historic step for the protection of the high seas and the deep seabed.
The UN experts emphasized the link between ocean conservation and the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, noting that the BBNJ provides a human rights-based framework to address the ongoing loss of marine biodiversity.
The experts also explained that the BBNJ Agreement will allow states to use marine biodiversity sustainably while promoting responsible scientific research by facilitating the generation and dissemination of data, which will improve our knowledge of underexplored areas. Additionally, the agreement incorporates the precautionary principle and requires all planned activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction to undergo an environmental impact assessment in order to identify any potential risks to marine life.
The BBNJ Agreement is the third implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and will enter into force 120 days after the deposit of the sixtieth instrument of ratification. It represents the latest ocean governance mechanism designed to address the escalating biodiversity crisis affecting ocean life beyond the exclusive economic zone. The agreement facilitates action on the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, and is essential for achieving ocean-related objectives such as Sustainable Development Goal 14 and the “30 by 30” pledge of the High Seas Treaty.
The BBNJ Agreement will take effect in January 2026.
On the same day, the UN Special Rapporteurs celebrated the entry into force of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, noting that this agreement will help eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies that contribute to the depletion of global fish stocks.
Marine pollution, resulting from activities like overfishing, seabed mining, plastic pollution, and oil spills, can be a risk to marine biodiversity and human rights, which explains the need for an international legal framework to govern human activity in the ocean. The rights of Indigenous people and coastal communities are particularly at risk given that their livelihoods can depend on healthy marine ecosystems.
