UN High Seas Biodiversity Treaty Enters Into Force
BBNJ Treaty Brings Binding Rules to High Seas
Rome: A United Nations treaty regulating biodiversity in the high seas entered into force on January 17, 2026, bringing nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans under a single, legally binding conservation framework for the first time and reshaping how fishing, marine research and resource extraction in international waters are governed.
The agreement—formally titled 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 BBNJ—closes long-standing regulatory gaps in ocean spaces that until now were managed through fragmented, sector-specific rules with limited coordination and uneven enforcement.
The treaty imposes binding obligations on states across four areas: access to and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources; the creation of area-based management tools such as marine protected areas; mandatory environmental impact assessments for activities in international waters; and capacity building and technology transfer for developing countries. It establishes, in principle, that benefits derived from marine genetic resources—widely used in pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics—must be shared fairly and equitably.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said today that it welcomed the treaty’s entry into force and indicated it would support implementation, drawing on its long-standing role in global fisheries governance. FAO officials pointed to the organisation’s fisheries data systems covering production, trade, fleet capacity, employment and consumption, as well as its periodic global assessments of marine fish stocks and tools such as the Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System, which tracks the status of exploited resources.
FAO has also been involved for decades in capacity-building and compliance-related initiatives relevant to areas beyond national jurisdiction, including support to countries implementing port state measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, guidelines on transhipment, and the Global Record of Fishing Vessels. Through the Common Oceans Programme, funded by the Global Environment Facility, FAO and partner agencies have previously worked with states and regional fisheries bodies to improve management of high seas fisheries and reduce pressures on vulnerable species such as albatrosses and sharks.
Despite the treaty’s entry into force, its practical impact will depend on how these tools and existing institutions are aligned with the new legal framework. Implementation rests largely with states, flag-state controls and regional fisheries management organisations, raising unresolved questions about how compliance will be monitored and violations detected in remote high seas areas. Core operational mechanisms—including dispute resolution procedures, compliance review and sanctioning powers—are still to be negotiated by parties.
The agreement currently has 145 signatories and 81 parties, leaving several states active in high seas fishing and marine research outside its binding obligations. How conservation measures will apply in shared ocean spaces involving non-parties, and how conflicts between existing sectoral regimes and the new treaty will be resolved, remains unclear.
Areas beyond national jurisdiction account for roughly two-thirds of the global ocean and represent some of the planet’s most heavily exploited yet least regulated ecosystems. Fisheries operating in these waters catch an estimated 11 million tonnes of aquatic animals each year, primarily highly migratory species such as tunas, bonitos, billfishes and certain sharks. While regional fisheries management organisations already regulate portions of this activity through catch limits, monitoring systems and bycatch rules, geographical gaps and uneven compliance have long constrained conservation outcomes.
Supporters of the BBNJ Agreement describe its entry into force as a structural shift in global ocean governance. Critics caution that without predictable financing, clearer enforcement mechanisms and broader participation, the treaty risks replicating earlier governance gaps under a new legal banner. Whether it delivers measurable conservation gains will depend on how quickly legal commitments are translated into coordinated monitoring, compliance and action on the water.
– global bihari bureau
