- The instrument has been deposited at the United Nations headquarters in New York
- Spain thus becomes the first country in Europe to ratify it
- The Treaty undertakes to declare 30% of the high seas surface a protected area by 2030
Spain has ratified the Treaty on Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) with the deposit of the instrument by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Spain thus becomes the first country in the European Union to ratify this agreement. This was announced by the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, at a press conference in which she pointed out the importance of this “historic agreement”. “Today our country once again demonstrates, through facts, its commitment to the environmental agenda, to multilateralism and to a global project where the search for prosperity for all goes hand in hand with the necessary protection of global public goods,” said the vice-president.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has stressed in various speeches, Spain is once again demonstrating a coherent foreign policy, with leadership in the field of climate diplomacy and reinforcing rules-based multilateralism, the cornerstones of Spanish foreign action. The MAEC has been actively involved in the process of adopting the BBNJ, facilitating its ratification in a very short time.
At the press conference held this afternoon, the minister was accompanied by Juan Carlos del Olmo, secretary general of WWF Spain, and Eva Saldaña, executive director of Greenpeace Spain, who also highlighted the value of the Global Ocean Treaty.
GLOBAL OCEAN
TREATYThe BBNJ establishes a robust legal framework for all activities in the ocean and seas: it regulates human activities on the high seas, allows their protection through the designation of marine protected areas, and establishes a mechanism to equitably share the benefits derived from the exploitation of marine genetic resources. It is a normative development of the environmental aspects provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Specifically, within this framework, the commitment is made to declare 30% of the high seas surface a protected area by 2030. The treaty will therefore play a crucial role in achieving the 30×30 global target agreed during the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
For the treaty to enter into force, it is necessary to ratify it by at least 60 countries. Once that number is reached, 120 days have to pass. Chile, which is opting to host BBNJ’s headquarters, was the first country to ratify. He did so a year ago, on February 20, 2024. According to the United Nations register, in addition to Spain, 15 countries have already ratified: Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Chile, Cuba, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, St. Lucia, Timor-Leste.
BACKGROUND
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, signed the BBNJ in September 2023, when Spain was presiding over the Council of the European Union. Following this signing, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the MAEC submitted the agreement to refer the BBNJ to the Cortes on 9 July 2024 to the Council of Ministers. Subsequently, once the authorization of the Cortes was obtained, the MAEC raised the agreement to formalize the ratification with the deposit of the instrument today, February 4, 2025.
