High Seas Treaty ratified and due to enter into force in 2026

The "High Seas Treaty" – an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction – has reached the required number of ratifications and will enter into force next year for the ratifying parties.

This follows steps taken by the UK government to introduce legislation setting out a domestic law framework for implementing the obligations of the High Seas Treaty and move towards ratification of the agreement.

Those involved in biotechnology and genetic research using marine genetic resources from the high seas with operations in ratifying states will want to closely follow the implementation of the access and benefits sharing mechanisms into national law in those jurisdictions, which includes the EU and many of its Member States. Attention should also be paid to how the UK's Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill proceeds through Parliament and whether the treaty is ultimately ratified by the UK.

Marine ecosystem protection

The treaty, also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement, aims to protect marine ecosystems that may otherwise be vulnerable to issues such as resource exploitation, ocean degradation and deep-sea mining.

Building on the existing ocean governance regime and complementing agreements under the Convention on Biological Diversity, such as the Nagoya Protocol, the treaty introduces mechanisms for the establishment of marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments for activities on the high seas, and equitable access and benefit sharing mechanisms for marine genetic resources and digital sequence information.

Next steps

The treaty will officially come into force 120 days after the sixtieth ratification, approval or acceptance, which took place on 19 September. Once it enters into force, it will apply to all parties that have ratified the agreement.

The EU has announced that it is working on a fast implementation, including supporting developing nations in making readiness preparations for the treaty's obligations. This includes a €40 million commitment through its Global Ocean Programme.

Osborne Clarke comment

Reaching the required number of ratifications to enable the BBNJ Agreement to enter into force next year is a historic moment and marks a shift in international attitudes towards protecting and governing the marine resources in the high seas. However, the real test will be how the international obligations are implemented into the national laws of the ratifying countries and whether enforcement mechanisms are put in place to ensure compliance.

Certain provisions of the BBNJ Agreement, including the monetary benefits sharing provisions, are controversial. The modality of implementation of the monetary benefits sharing provisions is left open to be agreed at a future point by the Conference of Parties. It remains to be seen whether any agreement can be reached, particularly with the two decades negotiating history underpinning the BBNJ Agreement in mind.

Nonetheless, will this historic moment encourage other signatories to expedite ratifying the agreement? The UK has set the ball rolling and is unlikely to act quicker given the necessary parliamentary procedures that need to be followed, but other signatories may now be spurred on to follow suit.