The so -called this Friday has gathered the 60 ratifications necessary so that it can go into force, a step that environmental activists and defenders of marine biodiversity have expect for decades. This agreement, which was adopted in June 2023 but has failed to gather enough accessions, feel the foundations so that, among other things, they can be created, an area in gloom when talking about environmental protection.
These waters, which go beyond the jurisdiction of countries, are of all nations but did not have a specific instrument for environmental control of the activities that are developed there.
It was expected that coinciding with the celebration of the United Nations General Assembly, the necessary ratifications could be gathered, something that has finally happened this September 19. As established by the text itself, it will enter into force within 120 days, that is, on January 17. . The latter have been Sri Lanka, San Vicente and Las Grenadinas, Sierra Leone and Morocco.
“This historical moment is the culmination of years of global dedication and diplomacy,” said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the Alta Sea Alliance, an organization that has been fighting for the adoption of this agreement for a long time. In June, the French city of Nice hosted a summit of the oceans in which the 60 ratifications were expected to meet, but the complex processes that must be followed within the states to be able to incorporate international agreements to their own legislation, which in many cases force to go through national parliaments, made that milestone impossible in June. “The high seas treaty is a powerful testimony of multilateralism, which shows what the world can achieve when we join for the common good of our ocean, which covers more than 70% of the planet,” said Hubbard.
The entry into force comes at a complicated moment for multilateralism due to the advance of ultras populisms. Especially, in the US, where Donald Trump has already given signs of wanting to exploit the resources of those international waters without waiting for possible damage to be evaluated. Trump tries to promote, something that has already aroused the rejection of many states.
For WWF this treaty, whose official name is agreement on biodiversity outside the national jurisdiction or BBNJ (its acronym in English) will finally provide a legally binding mechanism for the designation of protected marine areas, “an essential step to achieve the global objective of protecting 30% of the ocean for 2030 ″.
The agreement was closed two years and three months after almost two decades of negotiations within the UN. In September 2023, it opened to the ratifications and Palaos became the first country to present its ratification instrument to the United Nations. Since then nations have been added to the figure of 60 countries. But another 82 nations have also signed the treaty, the step prior to ratification. As Hubbard explains, entry into force is not the end, it is only “the starting point of the process.”
The text now establishes that the first conference of the parties (COP) of the treaty must meet for 2026, something that probably occurs within a year. In the bosom of these conferences it will be where the proposals of marine reserves and the rules for their protection are presented.
“This is a monumental achievement for ocean conservation,” said Kirsten Schuijt, general director of WWF International. “It is a turning point for two thirds of the world’s oceans that are outside the national jurisdiction,” he added.
Dr. Katie Matthews, chief scientist of the Oceana NGO, stressed that the validation of the treaty “will help order” and that “nations must quickly pass from the ratification to its implementation.” Because, he has specified, “the health of the oceans and the billions of people who depend on them for their food and climatic stability, is linked to what happens next.”
