Green Junction - Ocean Treaties 2025

  After a few decades of negotiations, the United Nations adopted an international treaty designed to protect the oceans in 2023. Last month, the High Seas Treaty cleared its final step toward becoming an international law with the required 60 countries signed on. The law will ensure the protection of huge areas of the ocean that are beyond the jurisdiction of coastal countries. The treaty is called the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).

                The agreement will become law in 2026 and will apply to areas of the ocean called the high seas, which is two-thirds of the ocean. The high seas, by definition, are located beyond the exclusive economic zones of countries established by the United Nations Convention. Presently, only about 1 percent of the high seas, which makes up nearly half of the earth’s surface, is protected. The law is critical for protecting the oceans’ biodiversity and ecosystems. The details of the treaty will be discussed in future sessions of the Conference of Parties (BBNJ COP).

                Threats to oceans’ ecosystems include climate change, plastic pollution, deep-sea mining, overfishing and shipping. The World Resources Institute columnists wrote “By weaving together national actions with a robust global treaty, the world can ensure a resilient, equitable and thriving ocean for generations to come. This treaty is a milestone in the international drive to protect the ocean as a shared resource.” The director of the High Seas Alliance explained “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 percent of the planet.”