United Nations, United States
Sunday, June 15, 2025
By Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS
The treaty to protect the high seas, which is expected to come into force by the end of the year, will provide a means of action for the conservation and sustainable management of marine biodiversity in the immense part of the oceans that belongs to no one.
The treaty was adopted by UN member states in June 2023.
On Monday, on the sidelines of the UN Oceans Conference in Nice, it now had 134 signatures and had been ratified by 49 countries as well as the European Union, according to the UN treaty service. The French President has mentioned a total of 55.
This is still not enough for the treaty to enter into force, 120 days after the 60th ratification.
The USA signed the treaty in 2023, under Joe Biden, but is unlikely to ratify it while Donald Trump is president.
– High seas and seabed
The main objective is the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, “in the immediate and long term”, in areas beyond national jurisdiction – almost half the planet.
The text will apply to the high seas, i.e. the part of the oceans beyond the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of states, which extend a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast. It will also apply to the seabed and subsoil of international waters, known as “the Area”.
– A fragmented ocean
But the future Conference of the Parties (COP, the decision-making body) will have to deal with other global and regional organizations that currently have authority over parts of the ocean, in order to enforce its decisions.
In particular, regional fisheries organizations and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which currently issues mining exploration contracts and is negotiating a “mining code”.
The question of the future COP’s competence over the seabed is further complicated by the US government’s recent unilateral decision to accelerate Washington’s issuance of underwater mining permits in international waters. The United States is not a member of the IAMF.
– Marine protected areas
Marine protected areas, which today exist mainly in territorial waters, are an emblematic tool of the future treaty.
On the basis of scientific evidence, the COP, at the suggestion of one or more States, will be able to create these sanctuaries in areas that are unique, particularly fragile or important for endangered species.
As in other COPs, notably those on climate change, decisions will generally be taken by consensus. However, in the event of a deadlock, decisions may be taken by a three-quarters majority.
The treaty does not detail how protection measures are to be implemented in practice in these vast, remote stretches of land, a task that will fall to the COP.
Each State is responsible for activities over which it has jurisdiction in any case, even on the high seas, for example on a vessel flying the flag of its country.
– Marine genetic resources
Each State, whether maritime or not, and any entity under its jurisdiction, can organize collections of plants, animals or microbes on the high seas, whose genetic material can then be used, including commercially, for example by pharmaceutical companies hoping to discover miracle molecules.
To ensure that developing countries are not deprived of their share of a cake that belongs to no one, the treaty establishes the principle of “fair and equitable sharing of benefits” linked to marine genetic resources.
The text provides for the sharing of scientific resources (samples, genetic data on an “open-access platform”, technology transfers, etc.) as well as any revenues.
– Impact studies
Before authorizing an activity on the high seas under their control, countries will have to study its potential consequences on the marine environment, if the impacts envisaged are “more than minor and transitory”, and then publish a regular impact assessment.
It will be up to the State concerned to decide whether an activity is authorized, whereas the NGOs had hoped that the COP would have control over this decision.
Apart from the exclusion of military activities, the treaty does not list the activities concerned, which could include fishing, transport, underwater mining or even marine geoengineering techniques to mitigate global warming.
Humaniterre with AFP
