The agreement reached by delegates of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, better known by its acronym BBNJ, is the culmination of UN-facilitated talks that began in 2004 – and is already being referred to as the High Sea Treaty.
NGOs have been lining up to congratulate the UN on having reached this milestone agreement, and the fishing industry can expect to see changes take place in the coming years – once the agreement has been ratified by member nations and becomes effective, which isn’t necessarily a rapid process.
‘This action is a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come,´said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, welcoming the agreement that was reached at the weekend following weeks of wrangling, steered through the last two weeks by ambassador Rena Lee, Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who received a standing ovation when she announced that the agreement had been concluded.
In a statement, the Secretary General recognised the critical support of non-governmental organizations, civil society, academic institutions and the scientific community in reaching this point. The BBNJ Agreement covers access to and use of marine genetic resources; the adoption of conservation and sustainable use measures and the conduct of environmental impact assessments in the maritime areas beyond national jurisdiction; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
An innovative aspect of the BBNJ Agreement involves a commitment by developed countries to provide an additional 50% of their annual financial contributions under the Agreement to fund capacity-building projects which will help developing countries conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity, as well as to implement the Agreement.
The BBNJ Agreement also commits states to share benefits from the use of marine genetic resources including by facilitating access to samples and data from scientific research into marine organisms of the areas beyond national jurisdiction to researchers from both developed and developing countries.
The Intergovernmental Conference on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction gave Ambassador Rena Lee a standing ovation on the successful conclusion of the BBNJ treaty. Images: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Ambassador Rena Lee thanked delegates for their dedication and commitment. Images: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
