Countdown to ratify the High Seas Treaty begins

The NGO’s countdown began a week before UN member states convene at the UN Headquarters in New York to plan for the Treaty’s entry into force at the first Preparatory Commission BBNJ Agreement meeting on 24–26 June 2024.

“The treaty represents an historic step forward for humankind – it’s a momentous opportunity to protect life in the global ocean beyond our national borders. To reach our collective goal of securing the 60 ratifications needed for the treaty to enter into force by June 2025, all nations must accelerate the ‘race for ratification’ so that we can transform words into active ocean protections as soon as possible. The clock is ticking!” High Seas Alliance Director Rebecca Hubbard said.

Once 60 countries ratify the treaty, it will enter into force and become the world’s first international law to mandate the conservation and management of biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions (BBNJ), enabling the establishment of high seas marine protected areas (MPAs), and regulating potentially harmful activities through comprehensive environmental impact assessments.

To date, 90 nations have signed the treaty, and many others are in the process of ratification yet, a year since adoption, only seven –Palau, Chile, Belize, Seychelles, Monaco, Mauritius and the Federal States of Micronesia – have formally ratified. Meanwhile, political momentum is building with 34 nations committed to securing the ratifications needed for it to enter into force.

Currently, only 1% of the high seas is protected.

The High Seas Alliance insists that transforming the High Seas Treaty into action in the water is a critical step to securing international goals to reverse the climate and biodiversity crises, including the international target to protect at least 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030, agreed during the UN global Biodiversity Summit in December 2022.