BBNJ Agreement: 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

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 (BBNJ Agreement) was adopted in 2023. In September 2025, it had been ratified by 60 countries, triggering its entry into force in January 2026. The overarching aim is to facilitate the conservation, sustainable use, and fair sharing of benefits from biodiversity in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), including benefits arising from the use of marine genetic resources. The BBNJ Agreement sets out provisions for the creation of marine protected areas in the High Seas, requires environmental impact assessments for activities carried out in ABNJ, and for the equitable sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources in ABNJ. Its provisions also include capacity building, international cooperation and marine technology transfer in relation to the sustainable use of ABNJ. As an implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the BBNJ Agreement respects the existing mandates of existing global and regional multilateral agreements and bodies within ABNJ, complementing rather than replacing them. For example, by providing a legal basis for establishing High Seas marine protected areas, the BBNJ Agreement facilitates the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which includes a target to protect 30% of land and sea in protected area networks by 2030. As of 2026, UNCLOS-DOALOS (the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) is functioning as the interim Secretariat for the BBNJ Agreement, while the longer term institutional arrangements under the agreement are being set up. The list of Parties to the BBNJ Agreement shown here was up to date in September 2026 but may well have grown by the time you are reading this. For up-to-date information on the BBNJ Agreement, please check on the pages dedicated to the agreement on the UN website. (https://www.un.org/bbnjagreement/en/capacity-building-and-technical-assistance/overview)