Spain ratified today the treaty on marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty, or BBNJ), after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MFA) deposited the instrument at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Spain therefore becomes the first European Union country to ratify this agreement. The announcement was made this Tuesday by the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, at a press conference where she highlighted the importance of this “historic agreement”. “Today our country is once again demonstrating, through action, 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”, Aagesen emphasised.
As the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has stressed in various speeches, Spain is once again demonstrating a coherent foreign policy, showing leadership in climate diplomacy and reinforcing rules-based multilateralism, the cornerstones of Spanish foreign action. The MFA has actively participated in the process of adopting the BBNJ, facilitating its ratification in a very short period of time.
At the press conference held this afternoon, Aagesen was accompanied by Juan Carlos del Olmo, Secretary-General of WWF Spain, and Eva Saldaña, Executive Director of Greenpeace Spain, both of whom also highlighted the significance of the Global Ocean Treaty.
Global Ocean Treaty
The BBNJ establishes a robust legal framework for all activities in the ocean and seas: it regulates human activities in the high seas, allows for their protection through the designation of marine protected areas and establishes a mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising from the exploitation of marine genetic resources. It represents a policy development for environmental aspects laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Specifically, this framework sets out a commitment to declare 30% of the area of the high seas a protected area by 2030. The treaty will therefore play a crucial role in achieving the global 30×30 target agreed during the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Ratification by at least 60 countries is required for the treaty to enter into force. Once this number is reached, 120 days must elapse. Chile, which is bidding to host the BBNJ headquarters, was the first country to ratify it. It happened one year ago, on 20 February 2024. According to the United Nations register, in addition to Spain, 15 other countries have already ratified the treaty: Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Chile, Cuba, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, Saint Lucia and Timor-Leste.
Background
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, signed the BBNJ in September 2023, when Spain held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Following this signature, on 9 July 2024, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the MFA submitted, to the Council of Ministers, the agreement to send the BBNJ to the Spanish Parliament. Subsequently, after securing authorisation from Parliament, the MFA submitted the agreement to formalise the ratification with the deposit of the instrument today, 4 February 2025.
-NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION-