BBNJ: Ratification by more than 60 countries, entry into force in 2026

"The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement marks a historic step forward for the protection of the oceans and marine biodiversity. This agreement, the result of years of negotiations, shows that the global community is capable of cooperating to preserve our planet's most fragile ecosystems. It is now up to us to give substance to this agreement by mobilising the most ambitious countries. This is the message I will be taking to New York this week at the annual meeting of the Ocean Panel", declared Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, the Sea and Fisheries, before the UNGA meeting in New York, from 23 to 27/09/2025.

Adopted by the United Nations on 19/06/2023, the BBNJ agreement (Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction) plans to:

• Create MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) in international waters;
• Regulate activities related to the exploitation of marine genetic resources
• Establish a framework for environmental impact assessments of current and future human activites;
• Implement an annual financing…