More than 76 countries and the European Union signed a landmark ocean protection agreement at the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York — the first opportunity nations had to formally commit to the High Seas Treaty, also known as the BBNJ agreement. The signing marked a turning point for a body of water that covers two-thirds of the planet yet has received almost no formal protection.
At a glance
- High seas treaty: More than 76 nations and the E.U. signed the BBNJ agreement during the U.N. General Assembly in September 2023 C.E., with additional countries given two more years to join.
- Marine protected areas: Once 60 nations ratify the treaty, it will enter into force after 120 days — creating the legal framework to establish networks of MPAs across international waters.
- Ocean coverage: Only about 1% of the high seas currently hold any protected status, leaving an enormous gap in global conservation despite those waters making up the majority of the world’s oceans.
Two decades in the making
The high seas — international waters that begin beyond nations’ exclusive economic zones — have long existed in a legal gray zone. No single country owns them, and until now, no binding international agreement governed how they should be protected.
U.N. member states spent nearly 20 years negotiating the treaty’s text. Progress stalled repeatedly over disagreements on resource sharing, environmental impact rules, and how wealthier nations would support those in the Global South. Then, in March 2023 C.E., countries finally reached consensus. In June, after the text was translated into all six official U.N. languages, nations formally adopted it.
The signing at UNGA was the first moment countries could put their names to it — and more than 70 did on day one.
What the treaty actually does
The BBNJ agreement establishes rules for five areas that had previously gone unaddressed in international law: how to share marine genetic resources equitably; how to conduct environmental impact assessments before major activities in the high seas; how to create and manage networks of marine protected areas; how to build capacity in developing nations to meet treaty objectives; and how to resolve disputes.
The equity provisions are significant. Nations in the Global South have historically had less access to marine genetic resources — biological material from ocean species that can have pharmaceutical and industrial value — despite being among the most ocean-dependent communities on Earth. The treaty requires that benefits from those resources be shared more fairly.
Ratifying the treaty is also seen as essential to meeting the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed in December 2022 C.E., which commits nations to protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 C.E. Currently, less than 10% of ocean waters hold any protected status, mostly within national zones.
The race to ratify
Signing the treaty is not the same as ratifying it. Each country must go through its own internal legislative process to formally adopt the agreement into national law, then notify other parties of its commitment. The treaty enters into force 120 days after 60 nations complete that process.
“It’s huge to see that so many countries actually did sign on the first opportunity,” said Jessica Battle, senior global ocean governance and policy expert at WWF. “But now we need to make sure that countries are actually ratifying the agreement into their national legislation — and quickly.”
Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, was equally direct: “Ocean temperatures have hit record highs, marine life — and all our lives — are under unprecedented pressure. To survive, it is critical that the new High Seas Treaty enters into force as soon as possible.”
There is no deadline for ratification, and the timeline will vary significantly by country. Some nations with complex legislative systems may take years. The open-ended timetable means the moment of entry into force remains genuinely uncertain — a real limitation given how quickly ocean conditions are changing. Ocean acidification and warming are already affecting marine ecosystems that the treaty aims to protect.
Why the high seas matter
The high seas are not a distant abstraction. They regulate global weather patterns, absorb carbon dioxide, and support fisheries that billions of people depend on for food and income. Yet because they fall outside any nation’s borders, they have been among the least studied and least protected parts of the planet.
Scientists estimate the high seas are home to hundreds of thousands of species, many of them undiscovered. Deep-sea habitats — hydrothermal vents, seamounts, abyssal plains — support ecosystems unlike anything on land. The BBNJ agreement is the first legal instrument specifically designed to protect this space at a global scale.
The scientific case for high-seas protection has grown steadily. Research shows that protecting large stretches of open ocean can help fish populations recover in adjacent areas, including within national waters — meaning coastal communities stand to benefit even when the protected zones lie far offshore.
The momentum generated at UNGA was real. Whether it translates into rapid ratification — and ultimately into a functioning network of high-seas protected areas — is the question that conservationists will be watching closely in the years ahead.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Mongabay
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Ghana creates a new marine protected area at Cape Three Points
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- The Good News for Humankind archive on marine conservation
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