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

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, also known as the “BBNJ Agreement”, was adopted on 19 June 2023. This followed nearly twenty years of negotiations and marked a historic achievement in efforts to ensure the health and resilience of ocean ecosystems and to level the playing field in the capacity to participate in and benefit from ocean activities.

The Agreement becomes the third implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in addition to the Part XI Agreement, which addresses the exploitation for and exploration of mineral resources in the international seabed area, and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, which addresses the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction are affected by anthropogenic pressures such as destructive fishing practices, pollution and climate change which, cumulatively, put the health and resilience of the ocean at risk. The Agreement addresses a package of issues under the overall objective of ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for the present and in the long term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and further international cooperation and coordination. The Agreement sets out specific measures in respect of these issues and modalities to implement and monitor those measures, as well as institutional arrangements to support the implementation of the Agreement.

Civil society and various intergovernmental organizations within and outside the United Nations system were instrumental in informing the process that led to the adoption of the Agreement.

The main issues covered by the Agreement The BBNJ Agreement covers four main issues:

I marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits;

II measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas;

III environmental impact assessments;

IV capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.

It also addresses so called “cross-cutting issues”, which are transversal topics that support the implementation of the Agreement and are relevant to the four main issues.

Why is the Agreement important?

The ocean’s importance cannot be overemphasized.

It is an essential reserve of biodiversity, constituting over 90 per cent of the habitable space on Earth. Such biodiversity provides critical ecosystem services, supporting livelihoods of billions and food security, among others. It provides important goods and services, such as means of transport, energy production, tourism potential, and a host of minerals and organisms of relevance to various sectors in the context of a sustainable ocean- based economy.

It produces oxygen that we breathe and is a significant carbon sink, drawing in a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and over 90 per cent of the excess heat in the climate system, aiding in limiting rises in air temperature and the effects of climate change.

But the ocean is under increasing cumulative pressures:

● It is heavily impacted by pollution. Garbage, including plastic and other marine debris, oil spills and harmful algal blooms resulting from nutrient run-off are just some examples.

● Marine species are being lost at significant rates due to various cumulative pressures, including overexploitation, habitat destruction, the effects of climate change, and pollution.

● It is impacted by warming waters and acidification, affecting marine species and disrupting weather systems,and contributing to sea-level rise.

When will the Agreement begin operating?

The adoption of the Agreement was the first of several steps to bring it into being as a legally binding instrument. States or regional economic integration organizations wishing to become parties to the Agreement must express their consent to be bound by it, either through the two-step process of signature, followed by ratification, approval or acceptance, or through the single-step process of accession.

The Agreement is open for signature for two years, from 20 September 2023 until 20 September 2025. It may be signed during this time by making an appointment with the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations. The signatories to the Agreement are under an obligation to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the Agreement.

To become parties, signatories must then ratify, accept or approve the Agreement in accordance with their national procedures. After the period for signature has closed, a State or regional economic integration organization may become party to the Agreement through accession in accordance with its internal procedures.

The Agreement will take effect (known under treaty law as “entering into force”) 120 days after the date of the deposit of the 60th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. At that point the Agreement will become binding on all those who have become parties, meaning all of the rights and obligations thereunder take effect.

More info:https://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_files/BBNJ/bbnjagreementoverviewfactsheet.pdf

Edited by: YJ
Reviewed By: Maggie|
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

 

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