Since 2017, an Intergovernmental Conference convened by the United Nations General Assembly has been negotiating a new legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).
The United Nations General Assembly decided, in 2015, to develop an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The “BBNJ Treaty”, also known as the “Treaty of the High Seas”, is an international legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, currently under negotiation at the United Nations.
This new instrument is developed within the framework of the UNCLOS.
It was agreed, following conclusion of the fifth round of treaty negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States.
The legal framework would place 30 per cent of the world’s oceans into protected areas, put more money into marine conservation, and covers access to and use of marine genetic resources.
The BBNJ treaty addresses, among other things:
- the conservation and sustainable use of marine BBNJ.
- marine genetic resources, including questions on benefit-sharing (MGR);
- Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including marine protected areas.
- environmental impact assessments (EIA); and
- capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT).
