Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction: The Hope of Our Ocean

The United Nations’ Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement entered into force in January 2026, marking a turning point in how the world manages and protects the high seas. This agreement aims to address the growing biodiversity crisis for ocean life outside the Exclusive Economic Zone. These areas, which lie in weakly regulated waters, account for nearly two-thirds of the global ocean. This framework will legally bind signatory countries to conserve marine biodiversity and support the global objective of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.

This achievement is significant for protecting habitats of endangered marine species and wildlife. It enables nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters and requires environmental impact assessments for activities that could harm ocean ecosystems. It also introduces rules for sharing the benefits derived from marine genetic resources, which are increasingly used in biotechnology, medicine, and scientific research.

What’s in it for us?
The relevance of the treaty extends beyond environmental policy and directly affects everyday life. Healthy oceans play a crucial role in regulating the Earth’s climate, absorbing carbon dioxide, and providing food for billions of people. Many global industries, including fisheries, shipping, and tourism, depend on stable and marine ecosystems. By addressing overfishing and habitat destruction in previously unregulated waters, the agreement helps protect food security, economic stability, and long-term environmental resilience for current and future generations.

The agreement’s significance lies in its potential to reshape global ocean governance. Achieving the “30 by 30” target would require the creation of more than 190,000 marine protected areas, a massive expansion from the roughly 8% of oceans currently under protection. While this milestone marks a major advancement, it has limitations. Notably, it does not regulate deep-sea mining, which remains under the authority of the International Seabed Authority.

Despite these challenges, the BBNJ agreement signals a growing international commitment to shared responsibility for the oceans and offers renewed hope for preserving marine biodiversity on a global scale.