UN BBNJ Agreement

The UN Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction – the BBNJ Agreement – entered into force in January 2026. It marks a huge victory for marine conservation and multilateralism. This Agreement is key to providing greater protection for the high seas – which account for two thirds of global oceans and seas – and achieving global marine conservation goals.

The international community’s adoption of the Agreement in New York in 2023 was many years in the making. Germany and the EU fought for and negotiated an ambitious Agreement for a long time. The international community now has an effective instrument at its disposal to designate protected areas on the high seas, creating spaces for marine nature to recover. The Agreement is the first to establish uniform environmental rules for all countries. After all, the oceans and seas are crucial to our survival. They are the biggest ecosystem on the planet, they provide us with food and they generate oxygen. They also make a valuable contribution to climate change mitigation by absorbing heat and acting as important carbon sinks.

Germany was one of the first countries to sign the BBNJ Agreement in New York in September 2023. The German ratification process, in other words formal accession to the Agreement adopted by the German Bundestag, is currently ongoing. Unlike many other countries, to enable this formal accession, Germany has to adopt a second piece of legislation specifying how the Agreement’s provisions will be implemented in and for Germany. For example, to ensure that German organisations and German-flagged ships on the high seas comply with the BBNJ regulations. On the one hand, this makes the ratification process longer, but on the other hand it means that Germany will be immediately ready to effectively implement the Agreement. This second piece of legislation, the BBNJ Act (Hochseeschutzgesetz), was already adopted by the German Bundestag at the end of February 2026 and deliberations in the Bundesrat will conclude in March 2026. The next and final step will then be ratification at the UN in New York. This will make Germany a full voting member – known as a Party to the Agreement.

The high seas cover around half of the Earth’s surface and two thirds of the entire ocean. Legally speaking, these are parts of the ocean beyond national spheres of influence and national laws, places that belong to everyone and no one. Until now, there were no universal environmental rules for the high seas.

The BBNJ Agreement now covers the diversity of species and ecosystems in waters beyond national jurisdiction.

The new BBNJ Agreement lays down, for the first time, general nature conservation and environmental protection regulations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Until now, UNCLOS primarily regulated human economic activities on the high seas (shipping, research).

The UN BBNJ Agreement sets out rules for the following:

• the establishment of marine protected areas with effective conservation measures
• mandatory environmental impact assessments of human activities that have a significant impact on the high seas marine environment
• handling samples of marine animals and plants on the high seas and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from utilisation
• support for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for poorer countries in the Global South by means of capacity-building and technology transfer

The marine protected areas and environmental impact assessments are especially important for nature conservation and environmental protection.

The first Conference of the Parties to the UN BBNJ Agreement will take place either in December 2026 or January 2027. Although no protected areas will be established at the first Conference of the Parties (COP), key decisions will be taken on the future functioning of the Agreement. These will regulate in detail how to designate protected areas, carry out environmental impact assessments and ensure transparent and fair use of marine genetic resources.

Germany has been committed to international marine conservation and protection for many years. In addition to its important role in the EU and internationally, Germany is also involved in a number of other initiatives to achieve ambitious and swift implementation of the Agreement.

• Germany is part of the international BBNJ First Movers initiative. Several ambitious countries have come together with the aim of serving as a pioneering coalition for preparing the future designation of high seas marine protected areas under the BBNJ Agreement.
• The German Environment Ministry is financing the Living High Seas project through its International Climate Initiative (IKI). In this project, due to run until 2031, IKI is supporting selected partner countries in the Global South in drawing up proposals for protected areas on the high seas. A total of 20 million euros will be made available. This project – and, as a result, Germany’s commitment – have been recognised internationally in light of this large volume of funding and the ambitious and detail-oriented approach.