The so-called "High Seas" treaty, officially known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) has been signed by 67 countries at the UN headquaters in New York.
The treaty was officially opened for signing and ratification on 20 September at the UN General Assembly. Sixty-seven countries signed the treaty, including the United States, China, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Mexico as well as the European Union as a whole.
The terms of the BBNJ treaty were agreed in June, following 15 years of negotiations. To become law, the treaty needed at least 60 member signatories. However, each country must still ratify the treaty under its own individual domestic legal process. The treaty will then come into force 120 days after official ratification is completed.
Describing the BBJN treaty as "our constitution for the ocean," European Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said that "With the signature of the High Seas Treaty, we can safeguard the ocean from human pressures, and get closer to our objective of protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030."
However, Greenpeace interim Executive Director Mads Christensen noted that for the legislation to become a reality, rapid domestic ratification is needed by all signatory nations. "This signing is a purely symbolic moment. Now politicians must bring the treaty home and ensure it is ratified in record time," he said.
The treaty is a legally-binding framework for the "conservation and sustainable development of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction". Covering almost two-thirds of ocean lying outside national boundaries, it provides a legal mechanism to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in international waters, vast areas in which fishing and other access to resources will be restricted. To provide oversight, a new international body will also be established to hold member states to account regarding governance and biodiversity.
The high seas are defined as "the ocean area starting beyond countries' exclusive economic zones, or 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off coastlines" – which accounts for almost half the planet's surface.
Until now, only 1% of the high seas have been protected, leaving marine life at risk from overfishing, shipping traffic, pollution and other threats caused by human activity. The new treaty will formally protect 30% of the world's oceans, put more money into marine conservation, and regulate access to and use of marine "genetic resources", such as deep-sea marine sponges, krill, corals, seaweeds and bacteria.
As part of the treaty's terms, governments will also need to carry out environmental impact studies for any proposed activities on the high seas. Although not stipulated in detail, such activities are likely to include all industrial and economic operations, such as fishing, maritime transportation, geo-engineering and deep-sea mining.
