“Within 80 years, without significant interventions, more than 50% of the world’s marine species may stand on the brink of extinction.” – UNESCO, 2020

The story so far… In response to the alarming pressure on the biodiversity of the world’s ocean, and after almost 20 years of intense discussions and negotiations, an international agreement was finally approved in March 2023 enabling the protection of demonstrably vulnerable biodiversity within specified areas beyond national jurisdiction (aka the ‘High Seas’). Critically, this will empower marine policy-makers to meet the UN Environment Programme’s ‘30×30’ biodiversity target to conserve and manage 30% of the global marine environment by 2030. In June last year, the agreement was formally adopted by the United Nations.

On 20 September 2023 the proposed agreement was opened for signatures from supportive UN member states and regional blocks like the European Union. I’ll always remember that historic day because I was assembling my new kayak in Poole Harbour for some training ahead of a voyage to the UK’s northernmost coastal waters. Just as I pushed off the beach, my phone rang. It was a friend, one of the negotiators from the UK delegation who also advises our ocean conservation charity.

“I have good news,” they tell me, excitedly. “Over 60 nations have signed up to the agreement – 68 to be precise. Your vision of a North Pole Marine Reserve has just got a step closer to becoming a reality.”

As I paddled out, I felt a surge of hope.

The current total stands at 104 signatories. The final step is a big one. For the agreement to enter into force, at least 60 of these signatories must secure the approval and ratification of the domestic parliaments by September 2028, a process that incorporates the agreement within each nation’s own legal framework. To date, thirteen nations have ratified making them officially ‘parties’ to the agreement, including Chile, Cuba and Singapore which is a sparkling start. But the UK is not one of them – despite the UK positioning itself as a global leader in marine conservation.

Now, about this agreement’s name. Within official UN documentation, the proposed agreement is referred to as the ‘Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’. That this mouthful is often referred to as the UN High Seas Treaty or the Global Ocean Treaty in the international community is perhaps understandable. The Treaty is a legal instrument that will sit under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), itself an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities, though it has had no capacity to facilitate the protection of marine biodiversity in the High Seas.

Which begs the question, what is meant by the term ‘High Seas’? It refers to the open ocean, which includes the water column from the seabed to the surface, that lie beyond the national territorial waters (12 nautical miles offshore) and exclusive economic zones (200 nautical miles) of any country. High seas are one of the four global commons (aka international spaces) regarded in international law to be the common heritage of humanity and should be both held in trust for future generations and protected from exploitation.