The international agreement governing biodiversity beyond national waters has passed a significant implementation milestone, reaching 100 parties as Germany, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia and Brunei Darussalam deposited their instruments of ratification at the United Nations in September. The milestone, reached less than a year after the treaty secured the 60 ratifications required for entry into force, underscores growing international support for a new system of governance covering marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. The United Nations Treaty Collection subsequently recorded 102 parties as of 4 October 2026.
Formally known as the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or the BBNJ Agreement, the High Seas Treaty entered into force on 17 January 2026. Adopted by governments in June 2023 after almost two decades of negotiations, it is the third implementing agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and establishes a legally binding framework for conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The significance of the agreement extends well beyond marine conservation. Areas beyond national jurisdiction account for a substantial share of the global ocean and contain ecosystems, species and genetic resources with implications for fisheries, scientific research, climate regulation and the wider blue economy. Yet these waters have historically been governed through a fragmented collection of sectoral rules and institutions. The BBNJ Agreement seeks to provide a more coordinated framework for conservation and sustainable use.
Its provisions cover four principal areas: marine genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. It also establishes institutional arrangements, a funding mechanism and a clearing-house mechanism intended to support implementation and information sharing.
For African countries, the treaty creates an additional layer of relevance because the continent’s relationship with the high seas is closely connected to fisheries, maritime trade, coastal economies, marine research and the resilience of ocean-dependent communities. Although the high seas fall outside national jurisdiction, activities and ecological changes in international waters can affect coastal states through migratory fish stocks, ocean ecosystems and economic activity.
Seychelles became the first African country to ratify the agreement in April 2024, while Sierra Leone and Morocco were among the countries whose ratifications helped push the treaty across the 60-party threshold in September 2025. Zimbabwe’s ratification in September 2026 adds another African state to the agreement’s membership. Kenya has also ratified the BBNJ Agreement, with its instrument registered by the UN on 17 January 2026.
The participation of African states is important because implementation will involve questions of equity, scientific capacity and access to marine technology. Developing countries have historically faced constraints in conducting deep-ocean research and participating fully in international marine governance. The BBNJ framework therefore includes capacity-building and technology transfer among its core areas, potentially giving developing countries a stronger institutional basis for participating in research and decision-making around biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
The next test will be whether the treaty’s growing membership can translate into functioning institutions and measurable protection. The first Conference of the Parties, or COP1, is scheduled to take place at United Nations headquarters in New York from 11 to 22 January 2027. Governments are expected to address the institutional and operational arrangements required for the agreement, including rules of procedure, financing, the clearing-house mechanism, subsidiary bodies and arrangements for the treaty secretariat.
Preparatory work has already begun. The third session of the BBNJ Preparatory Commission, held from March to April 2026, produced recommendations and draft elements covering areas including the voluntary trust fund, the special fund, cooperation with the Global Environment Facility, the clearing-house mechanism, subsidiary bodies and the future location of the secretariat. Those issues will feed into negotiations at COP1.
Marine protected areas will be among the most consequential elements of the new framework. The treaty provides a legal pathway for establishing area-based management tools in international waters, including highly protected marine areas where agreed conservation measures can apply. Environmental impact assessments will also become increasingly important as governments and companies undertake activities that could affect biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. The agreement requires greater scrutiny of activities with potential impacts rather than leaving environmental consequences to fragmented sector-specific processes.
That has implications for sectors extending beyond traditional conservation. Shipping, offshore energy, seabed activities, fisheries, marine scientific research and emerging ocean industries operate within an increasingly interconnected marine economy. Stronger environmental assessment requirements could influence how governments and companies evaluate projects whose ecological impacts cross national boundaries.
The governance question is particularly important for Africa. The continent has participated actively in discussions around the high seas, while African institutions and governments have increasingly linked ocean governance with the blue economy, climate resilience and sustainable development. The 2026 Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa provided a regional platform for discussions on High Seas marine protected areas, illegal fishing, monitoring, enforcement and African priorities in implementation. The High Seas Alliance and the University of Nairobi were among the organisations involved in discussions around the treaty during the conference.
The treaty’s 100-party milestone also highlights an important distinction between participation and influence. Countries that have become parties are positioned to participate formally in the agreement’s decision-making processes, while states that have not yet ratified face limitations in shaping the rules that will govern implementation. The High Seas Alliance has argued that wider ratification is necessary to strengthen the legitimacy and inclusiveness of the new governance system.
Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance, said the 100-party milestone demonstrated international momentum but argued that the process could not stop at ratification. She called for governments to arrive at COP1 prepared to turn political support into institutional decisions and concrete ocean protection.
For Africa, that transition from ratification to implementation will be particularly significant. The continent’s coastal and island economies depend heavily on healthy marine ecosystems, while many countries continue to face constraints in marine scientific capacity, surveillance and enforcement. Ensuring that the treaty’s funding, technology-transfer and capacity-building mechanisms work effectively could therefore be as important as the legal commitments themselves.
The High Seas Treaty has moved from negotiation to implementation faster than many multilateral environmental agreements. But the 100-party milestone is ultimately a measure of participation, not yet of conservation outcomes. The real test will come when governments begin deciding where protection should apply, how environmental impacts should be assessed, how benefits from marine genetic resources should be shared and how developing countries can participate meaningfully in the system.
With COP1 approaching in January 2027, the treaty is entering the more difficult phase of turning international consensus into operational governance. For Africa, that process presents both a conservation interest and an economic one: the rules established for the high seas will increasingly shape how countries participate in a global ocean economy whose environmental and financial value extends far beyond national maritime boundaries.
