The high-seas biodiversity treaty in force since 2026 sets rules for marine research

On January 17, 2026, the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, known as the BBNJ Agreement, entered into force. The treaty, adopted at the United Nations in New York on June 19, 2023, is the third agreement implementing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It covers the high seas and the international seabed beyond any country's jurisdiction, which together make up more than two-thirds of the ocean. As of October 31, 2026, the UN's treaty record lists 105 parties, and their first Conference of the Parties will meet at UN Headquarters in New York from January 11 to 22, 2027.

The UN Secretary-General, acting as depositary, announced on September 19, 2025, that the conditions for entry into force had been met that day. Under Article 68, the agreement took effect 120 days after the 60th instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession was deposited.

Four sets of rules

The agreement deals with four main issues: marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits they bring; area-based management tools, such as marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology, mainly to help developing countries take part. It also creates a Conference of the Parties, subsidiary bodies including a Scientific and Technical Body, a funding mechanism, a Clearing-House Mechanism built mainly as an open-access platform for sharing information, and a secretariat.

What it asks of high-seas sampling

For scientists, the most direct rules concern marine genetic resources, which the treaty defines as “any material of marine plant, animal, microbial or other origin containing functional units of heredity of actual or potential value.” Each party must make sure that a planned collection in areas beyond national jurisdiction is notified to the Clearing-House Mechanism six months in advance, or as early as possible. The notice gives the purpose of the research, the area, the vessels and equipment, the sponsoring institution and the person in charge, the chances for scientists from all countries, in particular developing ones, to take part, and a data management plan. The system then generates a "BBNJ" standardized batch identifier.

No later than a year after the collection, the party must make sure the Clearing-House Mechanism is told, under that identifier, where the samples and any digital sequence information on them are kept, and the latitude, longitude and depth at which they were taken. Samples and sequence data used for research and development must be deposited in publicly accessible repositories or databases no later than three years after that use begins. Where results such as publications, patents and products can be found must also be notified as the information becomes available.

These rules do not apply to fishing regulated under other international law, or to a party's military activities. Under Article 10, they cover material collected after the treaty takes effect for a party, and they also extend to the use of older material unless the party opts out in writing. Many have: the European Union, China, Japan and the United Kingdom are among the parties that excluded material collected or generated before the agreement entered into force for them.

How the benefits are shared

Benefits from this work are to be shared in two ways. Non-monetary benefits include access to samples and sequence data, open access to findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) scientific data, the transfer of marine technology, and research partnerships, in particular for scientists from developing countries. On money, the treaty requires developed parties to make an annual contribution to a special fund, set at 50% of their assessed contribution to the budget the Conference of the Parties adopts, until the conference decides how monetary benefits will be shared. Options in the text include milestone payments, a percentage of revenue from product sales and a tiered fee.

Protected areas and impact assessments

The Conference of the Parties takes decisions on area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, on the basis of final proposals and draft management plans, consultations and the advice of the Scientific and Technical Body. Its decisions must not undermine the powers of existing global, regional and sectoral bodies.

Before a party authorizes a planned activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, it must assess the activity's potential impacts on the marine environment. An activity that may have “more than a minor or transitory effect,” or whose effects are unknown or poorly understood, must first be screened. A full environmental impact assessment follows if there are reasonable grounds to believe it may cause “substantial pollution of or significant and harmful changes to the marine environment.” When the treaty was adopted in 2023, the UN said it was the first international legal framework for assessing cumulative impacts and the consequences of climate change and ocean acidification in these areas.

What has happened since

The UN treaty record, as of October 31, 2026, lists 145 signatories and 105 parties. Japan acceded and China ratified in December 2025, the United Kingdom ratified on July 10, 2026, and Germany on September 22, 2026. The United States signed on September 20, 2023, but is not a party. The signing period closed on September 20, 2025; states that did not sign can still accede.

The first notices under the sampling rules have arrived. The treaty's website lists two pre-collection notifications under Article 12, received from Ireland's mission to the UN on July 16, 2026, and from the United Kingdom's on October 13, 2026, each under an interim reference number.

A Preparatory Commission, set up by the UN General Assembly in April 2024, held its third session from March 23 to April 2, 2026. Its report recommends documents for the first Conference of the Parties to consider. The session's papers covered rules of procedure, financial rules, the subsidiary bodies, the special fund and the secretariat, which Belgium, Chile and China have offered to host. The conference, which the treaty requires within a year of entry into force, opens in New York on January 11, 2027.