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International Convention for the Protection of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, Including the High Seas, Enters into Force

  • Date

    2026.01.29.

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    10

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International Convention for the Protection of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, Including the High Seas, Enters into Force
- Participation of 81 countries worldwide, including Korea, China, Japan, and the EU, in the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in the High Seas
 
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) announced that the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ Agreement) will take effect on January 17.
 
* BBNJ Agreement: Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
 
The BBNJ Agreement has been discussed to establish an international legal foundation for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, as the degradation of marine ecosystems in the high seas—which lack separate management frameworks—has emerged as a serious issue within the international community. Beginning with a UN General Assembly resolution in 2004, the Agreement was officially adopted in 2023 after a long series of informal working group meetings and preparatory committee sessions starting in 2006.
 
Korea ratified the Agreement in March 2025 after signing it in October 2023, becoming the first East Asian country and the 21st in the world to do so. Moreover, Korea has been urging the international community to actively participate through forums such as the 10th Our Ocean Conference (OOC), held in Busan in April 2025, to facilitate the early establishment of new international maritime standards for the conservation of marine biodiversity in the high seas.
 
A total of 81 countries have joined the Agreement, including major distant-water fishing nations and neighboring countries such as China and Japan, which ratified the Agreement in December 2025.
 
The BBNJ Agreement stipulates the establishment of area-based management tools, including marine protected areas in the high seas, the conduct of environmental impact assessments, and the sharing of benefits and digital sequence information* related to marine genetic resources to ensure the effective protection of marine ecosystems. However, the detailed implementation regulations and measures of the Agreement have not yet been finalized and will continue to be discussed at future meetings of the parties.
 
* Refers to data in which the genetic information of marine organisms is converted into digital form and stored and utilized.

MOF established a consultative body (working group) in October 2025 with participation from related industries—including distant-water fisheries, shipping, and marine bio—as well as research institutes, to discuss the detailed implementation regulations of the BBNJ Agreement. The Ministry also plans to continue communicating with industry stakeholders and environmental organizations (NGOs) on new international marine environmental regulatory trends through briefings and roundtable discussions.
 
Additionally, it will enact domestic laws to ensure the smooth implementation of the BBNJ Agreement and designate a research institute with expertise in high-seas marine ecosystem research as a "dedicated implementing agency" to collect scientific evidence and data. Moreover, it plans to support Korea's experts in marine environment, ecosystems, and science so that they can participate more extensively in the auxiliary bodies of the BBNJ Agreement, and to establish cooperative programs that can contribute to the international community.
 
"The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement means that the ocean has been recognized as an even more important value to the lives of the global community, including humanity. Now that a new order has been established in the high seas and the deep seabed, where there were previously no separate management standards, we expect marine biodiversity protection to be carried out more effectively and systematically. As a leading country in international maritime cooperation that will host the 4th UN Ocean Conference in 2028, Korea will continue to play a leading role in establishing international maritime standards," said Seo Jeong-ho, Director General of Marine Policy at MOF.
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