Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Agreement

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

My noble Friend the Minister of State (Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment), Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, has made the following written ministerial statement:

On 19 June 2023, an agreement that will mean much greater protection for the two-thirds of the global ocean that lies beyond national jurisdiction was adopted by consensus at the United Nations.

The agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) is known in short as the BBNJ Agreement. It will be opened for signature on 20 September 2023. Sixty countries need to become parties to the Agreement for it to enter into force.

This is a historic agreement for biodiversity and will play a key role supporting the delivery of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including helping to achieve the target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. For ABNJ, it will establish a mechanism to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and other Area Based Management Tools (ABMTs), establish new obligations to share the benefits of research into and utilisation of Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs), build upon provisions in UNCLOS on Environmental Impact Assessments for new activities and strengthen capacity building for developing states, along with broader technology transfer.

The agreement is important not only for ocean protection but is also a demonstration that UN multilateral diplomacy can still succeed in reaching an ambitious agreement on issues of shared interest and concern. It helps to reinforce the role of the UNCLOS as the cornerstone of international ocean governance.

As set out in the 2021 Integrated Review of UK Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and its refresh in March 2023, the UK’s vision is that by 2030 the ocean will be effectively governed, clean, healthy, safe, productive and be biologically diverse, linking resilient and prosperous coastal communities around the world, and supporting sustainable economic growth for the UK, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies. To deliver this vision, we will combine our work on maritime security, the environment and trade. Fundamental to this will be an absolute commitment to upholding UNCLOS in all its dimensions, as an essential enabler of global prosperity, security and a healthy planet.

The UK played a significant and proactive role in achieving the success of the BBNJ Agreement in over 10 years of negotiations. Under the leadership of the FCDO, we plan to take the necessary steps to ratify the agreement as soon as possible, working closely with Defra and other UK Government departments and the devolved Administrations to consider legislative measures necessary to comply with new obligations under the agreement.

The UK will continue to be at the forefront of international efforts to deliver effective ocean governance and will work with others to support ratification and implementation of the agreement, particularly by developing countries. This will include preparatory work to develop a new institutional framework and Secretariat for BBNJ, ensuring close co-ordination with existing regional and sectoral bodies such as the International Maritime Organisation, securing funding for early capacity building and arrangements for the first meeting of the conference of the parties once the agreement enters into force. We will work to ensure that the best available science and evidence underpins proposals to establish ABMTs, which include MPAs, under the Agreement and that UK researchers and innovators can contribute fully to new provisions on MGRs.

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