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 (BBNJ Agreement) was adopted on 19 June 2023 by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction convened under the auspices of the United Nations, and entered into force on 17 January 2026. The BBNJ Agreement becomes the third implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Under the overall objective of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for the present and in the long-term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and further international cooperation and coordination, the Agreement addresses four main issues:
Marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits;
Measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas;
Environmental impact assessments; and
Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
The Agreement also addresses a number of “cross-cutting issues”, establishes a funding mechanism and sets up institutional arrangements, including a Conference of the Parties and various subsidiary bodies, a Clearing-House Mechanism and a secretariat.
The Agreement was open for signature by all States and regional economic integration organizations from 20 September 2023 to 20 September 2025, and entered into force on 17 January 2026 (Depository notification C.N.447.2025.TREATIES-XXI.10). As of 21 September 2025, any State or regional economic intergration organization that has not signed the Agreement by the date it was closed for signature may accede to it.