{"id":185586,"date":"2025-09-27T15:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/185586\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:34:08","slug":"a-turning-point-for-the-ocean-what-the-high-seas-treaty-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/185586\/","title":{"rendered":"A Turning Point for the Ocean: What the High Seas Treaty Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a milestone for ocean governance and conservation, the High Seas Treaty<\/a> has cleared the final hurdle to become international law, which for the first time provides a legal pathway towards protecting vast areas of the global ocean beyond countries\u2019 national jurisdictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week, Sierra Leone and Morocco ratified the treaty\u2014formally 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 BBNJ Agreement<\/a>)\u2014signaling their commitment to abide by its terms. Their actions, along with those of dozens of other nations, have pushed the pact past the 60-country threshold required to become a legally binding instrument, which will go into effect in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis historic moment is the culmination of years of dedication and global diplomacy by governments and stakeholders,\u201d said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of more than 70 non-governmental organizations that advocate for the protection of international waters and the important marine ecosystems found there. \u201cThe High Seas Treaty is a powerful testament to multilateralism, showing what the world can achieve when we come together for the common good for our ocean, which covers more than 70 percent of the planet,\u201d she said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S. has not yet ratified the treaty, though it has indicated its support by signing the agreement, according to the U.S. State Department<\/a>. Countries that ratify the treaty formally commit to being legally bound by its articles and provisions.<\/p>\n

Inside Climate News spoke with Nichola Clark, senior officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts, who has spent the last ten years leading the nonprofit\u2019s advocacy work related to the BBNJ treaty as part of the organization\u2019s campaign to improve ocean governance to protect both marine ecosystems and human health and livelihoods. Below, Clark unpacks the importance of this agreement and its implications for marine life in two-thirds of the ocean.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TERESA TOMASSONI: The High Seas Treaty has just crossed the crucial ratification threshold to enter into force. What does that milestone mean and why is it being described as a historic turning point for the ocean?\u00a0<\/p>\n

NICHOLA CLARK: For the first time, this treaty provides a pathway for all countries that have ratified it to participate in the governance and protection of important ecosystems in international waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2023, when the treaty text was adopted by U.N. member states after around 20 years of negotiations, ocean advocates celebrated. Many thought the world would never reach consensus on protecting the high seas. It was a once-in-a-generation moment. But adoption only created a document\u2014it was still hypothetical. For it to actually become a real living, breathing agreement that was international law, there was a requirement that at least 60 countries had to formally ratify it. For the last two years, we\u2019ve been racing to acquire those ratifications. Some diplomats and even academic papers predicted it could take five years or more to get the necessary ratifications. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, for instance, took years and years before it entered into force.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TOMASONI: What is the High Seas Treaty and why is it important?\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLARK: This agreement, which will become international law next year, applies to parts of the ocean referred to as the high seas that lie beyond countries\u2019 exclusive economic zones (EEZs). These are maritime areas established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea<\/a> (UNCLOS), that recognize countries\u2019 sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources within 200 nautical miles from a country\u2019s coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NicholaNichola Clark, senior officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts.<\/p>\n

Those vast areas beyond countries\u2019 EEZs make up two-thirds of the ocean. That\u2019s nearly half the surface of the planet. And yet, only around 1 percent of those waters, which include both the entire water column and the seafloor, are currently protected. Until now, there was no global mechanism to designate protected areas aimed at conserving biodiversity there. Now, countries finally have that tool to do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This new legal tool is essential for meeting the \u201c30 by 30\u201d goal\u2014a global target that aims to protect 30 percent of all land and sea by 2030 to address the current biodiversity crisis. Because of how much of the ocean consists of high seas, you have to protect some of these areas to reach that target, and pretty much the only way to do that is through this new treaty.<\/p>\n

TOMASSONI: Why do the high seas need protection?\u00a0<\/p>\n

These areas are quite far physically, and they\u2019re far from our minds. But they are absolutely central to the biodiversity and ecosystems that we all rely on. A lot of marine life, especially highly migratory animals like whales, sea turtles and commercially valuable fish stocks, transit through high seas areas. Many seabirds spend most of their lives out there. It\u2019s great and important to protect these animals and their habitats in domestic waters where we can, but if you really want to protect them throughout their life cycle and where they live and spend their lives, we have to protect them beyond countries\u2019 200-mile line exclusive economic zone boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illegal, underreported and overfishing continue to pose great threats to biodiversity in these areas. Climate change is warming and acidifying the ocean, shifting entire ecosystems. Around 90 percent of commercial shipping also happens across the high seas. Ship waste, pollution and carbon emissions all affect ocean health. There\u2019s also potentially emerging threats. Commercial deep-seabed mining is not yet taking place on a commercial scale. But if that were to begin, you could anticipate that being a major threat to high seas biodiversity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TOMASSONI: How does this treaty help address some of these threats?\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLARK: The treaty has four main pillars. It allows countries to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas. It requires stronger environmental impact assessments for activities there. It creates a system for sharing benefits from marine genetic resources. And it ensures support for developing countries to participate through technology transfer and capacity building.<\/p>\n

The treaty creates a process through which countries can develop and propose high seas marine protected areas. These proposals would then be reviewed by a new scientific and technical body created as per the BBNJ agreement, which could decide whether to adopt it.<\/p>\n

Marine protected areas on the high seas could act as sort of refuges for different animals in a rapidly changing environment. They could also help protect certain species that are more resilient to climate change, which could then help with recovery in other places from climate change. We know migratory pathways for some animals are also shifting due to climate change. This treaty offers an opportunity to potentially create flexible, well-connected areas of protection that are going to make the biggest impact on the lives of marine organisms and ecosystems as the ocean changes and as their habitats change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The protections themselves can vary. Some countries interpret the treaty to mean the BBNJ Conference of the Parties (COP) can make legally binding rules. For example, if you\u2019re a party to BBNJ, it could be argued that your country could not fish in a high seas MPA. Others think it just means the COP makes recommendations to other governing bodies like Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOS), which establish regulations for the conservation and sustainable management of fish stocks, or the International Seabed Authority, which controls all mineral-resources-related activities in international waters. The treaty language is deliberately ambiguous, and how it\u2019s interpreted will be one of the first big debates at the BBNJ\u2019s first COP meeting, which we anticipate will happen next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story is funded by readers like you.<\/p>\n

Our nonprofit newsroom provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work.<\/p>\n

Donate Now<\/a> <\/p>\n

TOMASSONI: Can you tell me more about some of the other key components of this treaty?\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLARK: It also promotes the use of environmental impact assessments to ensure there is better accountability for activities happening on the high seas. Countries that have ratified the treaty will be required to complete these assessments before pursuing activities on the high seas to demonstrate they won\u2019t cause irrevocable harm to the biodiversity that\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

It also has some really cool provisions that have the potential to dramatically advance global equity. For example, the treaty requires countries to develop processes that will ensure that the benefits derived from marine genetic resources discovered on the high seas be shared with the global community. Let\u2019s say hypothetically, the cure for cancer is found in some sponge that\u2019s only in the high seas. Right now, only a handful of countries can actually afford to conduct research in these areas or invest in the pharmaceutical industry that would actually produce the drugs that would cure cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The treaty requires ratifying countries, develop a mechanism to equally share the benefits of such a discovery, be it monetary or other, with developing countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TOMASSONI: What are some high seas areas that countries want to protect once the treaty goes into effect?\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLARK: There are several countries working in collaboration with scientists to develop a proposal to protect the Costa Rica Thermal Dome. This area in the Eastern Tropical Pacific is known as a dynamic upwelling zone, where powerful winds and ocean currents push warm surface waters away, which are then replaced by cooler deep ocean waters. These waters are full of vital nutrients that fuel massive phytoplankton<\/a> blooms. This then feeds zooplankton<\/a>, which many marine animals depend on. It\u2019s an incredibly productive area\u2014tuna, dolphins, sharks, whales, turtles, seabirds all gather there to feed. It also moves with ocean conditions, so it could be one of the first examples of a \u201cdynamic\u201d protected area, meaning its protections would follow its movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Sargasso Sea, sometimes referred to as a \u201cfloating rainforest,\u201d in the North Atlantic, is another area. It\u2019s renowned for its vast floating mats of sargassum seaweed, which provides critical habitat for juvenile sea turtles. It\u2019s also a spawning ground for endangered European and American eels, and an important feeding ground for many other marine animals. Chile is in the process of developing a proposal to protect a long chain of underwater mountains off Chile and Peru called the Salas y G\u00f3mez and Nazca ridges. This area is known to have deep-sea coral reefs, sponges and lots of endemic species.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These are just some of the biodiversity hotspots in the high seas that have been identified for years, but until now, there was no legal mechanism to protect them. Now there is.<\/p>\n

TOMASSONI: Looking ahead, what comes next?<\/p>\n

CLARK: The next step probably is the hardest step, which is implementing the agreement\u2014turning this treaty into actual protections for the ocean. We also need to keep momentum on ratification. Sixty ratifications allows the law to go into effect, but the ultimate goal is universal ratification.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAbout This Story<\/p>\n

Perhaps you noticed: This story, like all the news we publish, is free to read. That\u2019s because Inside Climate News is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We do not charge a subscription fee, lock our news behind a paywall, or clutter our website with ads. We make our news on climate and the environment freely available to you and anyone who wants it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not all. We also share our news for free with scores of other media organizations around the country. Many of them can\u2019t afford to do environmental journalism of their own. We\u2019ve built bureaus from coast to coast to report local stories, collaborate with local newsrooms and co-publish articles so that this vital work is shared as widely as possible.<\/p>\n

Two of us launched ICN in 2007. Six years later we earned a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, and now we run the oldest and largest dedicated climate newsroom in the nation. We tell the story in all its complexity. We hold polluters accountable. We expose environmental injustice. We debunk misinformation. We scrutinize solutions and inspire action.<\/p>\n

Donations from readers like you fund every aspect of what we do. If you don\u2019t already, will you support our ongoing work, our reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet, and help us reach even more readers in more places? <\/p>\n

Please take a moment to make a tax-deductible donation. Every one of them makes a difference.<\/p>\n

Thank you,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTeresa Tomassoni\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tOceans Correspondent<\/p>\n

Teresa Tomassoni is an environmental journalist covering the intersections between oceans, climate change, coastal communities and wildlife for Inside Climate News. Her previous work has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, NBC Latino and the Smithsonian American Indian Magazine. Teresa holds a master\u2019s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She is also a recipient of the Stone & Holt Weeks Social Justice Reporting Fellowship. She has taught journalism for Long Island University and the School of the New York Times. She is an avid scuba diver and spends much of her free time underwater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a milestone for ocean governance and conservation, the High Seas Treaty has cleared the final hurdle to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-185586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}