Treaty obligates States to adopt ocean conservation measures with fair and equitable sharing of benefits
On 4 March 2023, after 36 hours of final robust negotiations, Singapore's Ambassador Rena Lee and the President of the Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), declared that the "ship has reached the shore."
Ambassador Lee's announcement signaled an agreement was reached on the text of a historic BBNJ marine biodiversity treaty, also known as the "High Seas Treaty". It was a significant triumph of multilateralism, and concluded a 20-year process, including a decade of negotiations.
The BBNJ treaty includes rules for managing ocean life, conducting environmental impact assessments, and establishing marine protected areas in the high seas.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres set the right tone at the outset of the conference in New York. "Our ocean has been under pressure for decades... [and we] can no longer ignore the ocean emergency," Mr. Guterres said.
He advised delegates to take an "important step forward in countering these destructive trends and advancing ocean health for generations to come... This treaty can ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of over two-thirds of our life-sustaining ocean space."
The African Group's role
Given that African States hardly access the high seas and with no direct activities related to marine genetic resources (MGRs), why does the BBNJ Agreement matter for Africa?
The African Group of negotiators played a significant role in the BBNJ Agreement, influencing some of its substantive provisions, particularly on MGRs, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits.
Throughout the negotiations, the African Group emphasized the importance of a global and holistic framework for adopting conservation measures and ensuring equity in the sustainable use of ocean resources.
The group rooted its position in the international law principle of the Common Heritage of Humankind (CHH), which establishes that resources in certain localities belong to all humanity, including developing countries.
While the focus was on fair and equitable sharing of benefits from marine biological resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction, it was equally important to secure ocean sustainability for present and future generations, consistent with Goal 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Hope for a healthy ocean
For a young African scientist, the BBNJ Agreement means an opportunity to get involved in research projects, and access samples, databases, repositories, and digital sequence information.
The BBNJ Agreement rekindles hope for a healthy ocean, planet, and human life. Access to ocean resources will help African States fight hunger and poverty and foster socioeconomic development.
There had been concerns that African States were foreclosed from accessing ocean resources, and a treaty obligating States to adopt conservation measures without fair and equitable sharing of benefits would have been unfair. Fortunately, the BBNJ addressed those concerns.
On MGRs, the African Group achieved its intended pathway, ensuring that MGRs activities will benefit all, particularly in advancing scientific knowledge.
The Agreement includes a provision for setting up a notification system to make information available through a clearing house mechanism at every stage of accessing MGRs.
There is an obligation to fairly and equitably share monetary and non-monetary benefits, and for developed countries to make upfront payments to finance capacity building for implementing the Agreement upon entry into force. This will reduce the financial constraints on African States.
To promote scientific knowledge, BBNJ Agreement provisions extend to MGRs and digital sequence information (DSI) collected or generated before its entry into force, except if a State declares otherwise. Nevertheless, the Agreement allows African scientists access to old samples from marine scientific research and samples collected under the BBNJ.
For a young African scientist, the BBNJ Agreement means an opportunity to get involved in research projects, and access samples, databases, repositories, and digital sequence information.
Another step forward is the provision for the establishment of a comprehensive system of Area-based Management Tools (ABMTs), with ecologically representative and well-connected networks of marine protected areas.
Adopting conservation and management measures will protect, preserve, restore and maintain biodiversity and ecosystems that will support Africa's food security and other socioeconomic objectives.
It is no secret that fishing companies in developed States overfish in high seas areas adjacent to exclusive economic zones of coastal African States. The BBNJ Agreement's focus on marine ecological connectivity and other measures will limit such unsustainable and unregulated illegal fishing. This will immensely benefit the coastal African States, of which we have 38.
Assistance to developing countries
It is no secret that fishing companies in developed States overfish in high seas areas adjacent to exclusive economic zones of coastal African States. The BBNJ Agreement's focus on marine ecological connectivity and other measures will limit such unsustainable and unregulated illegal fishing. This will immensely benefit the coastal African States, of which we have 38 The Agreement calls for assistance to developing countries to strengthen their capacity to prepare, conduct and evaluate environmental impact assessments (EIAs). It will ensure that activities on the high seas are assessed to prevent, mitigate, and manage adverse environmental impacts and protect and preserve the marine environment.
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Significantly for African States, the Agreement addresses critical issues of transboundary harm and cumulative impacts.
With the unified voice of developing States, concrete commitments were made on Capacity Building and Transfer of Marine Technology (CBTMT) to support the effective implementation of the Agreement.
Also, CBTMT will rely on, and respond to, the needs and priorities of developing States, identified through needs assessments, on a case-by-case, subregional, or regional basis.
Following the Agreement, what remains includes the formality of adoption by UN member states, ratifications at national levels, and implementation of critical provisions by Parties. These tasks must be carried out in a way that progress achieved so far is not undermined or reversed. Sixty Member States must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force, that is, to come into legal effect.
In financing and implementing the Agreement, it is vital to recognize the unique needs of developing States, including Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and coastal African states.
In conclusion, The BBNJ Agreement is in Africa's interest, but effective implementation will determine its real impact on oceans, people, and the planet.
Dr. Michael Imran Kanu is an Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations. He is the Coordinator of the African Group on BBNJ and the Lead on MGRs.
