A new chapter in international maritime governance takes effect as the High Seas Treaty formally enters into force on Saturday, January 17.
This agreement marks the first legally binding framework to protect marine life in international waters beyond any country’s jurisdiction.
What is the High Seas Treaty?
Officially known as the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, the treaty governs areas that make up nearly half of the Earth’s surface and about 95% of the ocean’s volume.
Adopted in 2023 after nearly two decades of negotiations, the treaty crossed the threshold of 60 ratifications in September 2025, triggering its entry into force 120 days later.
More than 80 countries have now ratified it, including major maritime powers China and Japan.
At its core, the treaty allows countries to establish marine protected areas on the high seas – something that was previously impossible.
Marine ecosystem protection
While around 9.6% of the world’s oceans are designated as protected, only a tiny fraction of international waters currently fall under juridical protection.
According to experts, safeguarding these areas is essential to meeting the global goal of protecting 30 per cent of the oceans by 2030.
To address these challenges, the agreement introduces mandatory environmental impact assessments for activities that could harm marine ecosystems, from industrial fishing to seabed exploration.
It requires greater transparency and benefit-sharing when marine genetic resources – organisms that can be used in medicine or biotechnology – are studied or commercialised.
Under this pact, developing countries will also receive support through capacity-building and marine technology transfer.
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Logistics to be finalised at COP31
Rules on governance, budgets, and enforcement mechanisms are expected to be finalised at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP31).
Yet challenges remain.
How protected areas will be monitored and enforced – whether through satellites, co-ordinated patrols or existing international bodies – has yet to be decided.
Conservation groups warn that the treaty’s success will depend on how firmly governments act.
Still, supporters see the treaty as a rare example of multilateral co-operation.
By bringing rules and accountability to the global commons, supporters argue that the High Seas Treaty offers a critical chance to slow biodiversity loss and protect the ocean systems on which climate stability, food security, and livelihoods depend.
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Lucia Caporalini 
Rachel Walker 
Joseph Terry