{"id":50875,"date":"2025-06-19T09:27:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=50875"},"modified":"2025-06-19T11:39:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T06:09:03","slug":"un-oceans-conference-2025-key-agreements-bbnj-treaty-and-global-ocean-commitments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/un-oceans-conference-2025-key-agreements-bbnj-treaty-and-global-ocean-commitments\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Oceans Conference 2025: Key Agreements, BBNJ Treaty, and Global Ocean Commitments"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>UN Oceans Conference 2025 <\/b><b>Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC), held in France, concluded with 56 out of the required 60 countries ratifying the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/biodiversity-beyond-national-jurisdiction-bbnj-agreement\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> agreement, also known as the <\/span><b>High Seas Treaty<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About 2025 UN Ocean Conference<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The third edition of UNOC (2025) focused on <\/span><b>accelerating global action to protect oceans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially <\/span><b>international waters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> beyond national boundaries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was co-hosted by <\/span><b>France and Costa Rica<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Theme &#8211; <\/span><b>\u201cAccelerating action and mobilizing all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Conference sought to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (<\/span><b>SDG14 &#8211; Life Below Water<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), with three main priorities, to produce an ambitious Nice Ocean Action Plan:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Priority 1:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Working towards completion of multilateral processes linked to the ocean<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Priority 2:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Mobilizing finance resources for the SDG14 and supporting the development of a sustainable blue economy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Priority 3:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Strengthen and better disseminate knowledge linked to marine sciences to enhance policy-making<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adopted in 2023, BBNJ is an international agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) focused on conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It aimed to <\/span><b>establish marine protected areas (MPAs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to prevent <\/span><b>overfishing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>deep-sea mining<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in these global commons.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Link to Global Biodiversity Goals<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The conference supports the <\/span><b>Convention on Biological Diversity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which targets protecting <\/span><b>30% of marine and coastal areas by 2030<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNOC focuses on implementing this by pushing countries to ratify the<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Treaty Ratification Status<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though 160 countries have signed the BBNJ Treaty (High Seas Treaty), only 56 have ratified it so far.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The treaty requires 60 ratifications to begin a 120-day countdown before it becomes legally binding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Treaty Objectives<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once enforced, the BBNJ treaty will:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create <\/span><b>marine protected areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> beyond national jurisdiction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mandate <\/span><b>environmental impact assessments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for high-seas activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regulate access to <\/span><b>marine genetic resources<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide <\/span><b>capacity-building support<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for developing countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>India&#8217;s and U.S.&#8217;s Positions<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has not ratified it yet but is \u201cin the process.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States has also not ratified the treaty.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Future Outlook<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UN anticipates <\/span><b>7<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">0 ratifications by September 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plans are in place to host the <\/span><b>first BBNJ Conference of Parties (COP)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 similar to climate COPs \u2014 in <\/span><b>late 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">Key Hurdles to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Disputes Over Benefit Sharing<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most contentious issue is how to share commercial benefits from marine genetic resources found in the high seas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These areas lie beyond national jurisdiction, making it difficult to establish <\/span><b>ownership or profit-sharing mechanisms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Lack of Consensus on Extraction<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While extracting exotic marine life is technically challenging, there\u2019s no clear global agreement on regulating such activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Environmental groups argue that without a ban or strict controls on extraction, the treaty\u2019s conservation goals will be undermined.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Risk to Ocean Ecosystems<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics warn that continued or unregulated extraction poses a serious threat to ocean health and biodiversity, defeating the treaty\u2019s purpose.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">Key Achievements of the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC)<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Major Financial Commitments<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The European Commission pledged \u20ac1 billion for ocean conservation, sustainable fishing, and marine science.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Germany announced a \u20ac100 million programme to clear old munitions from the Baltic and North Seas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Zealand committed $52 million to support ocean governance in the Pacific Islands.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy allocated \u20ac6.5 million to improve marine surveillance and protection.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Canada contributed $9 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance for climate resilience in vulnerable coastal regions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Expansion of Marine Protected Areas<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">French Polynesia pledged to establish the world\u2019s largest marine protected area, covering its entire exclusive economic zone (~5 million sq. km).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spain committed to creating five new marine protected areas, aiming to protect 25% of its marine territory.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>New Global Coalitions and Initiatives<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The High Ambition Coalition <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for a Quiet Ocean was launched by 37 countries, led by Panama and Canada, t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">o combat ocean noise pollution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A UN agency collective initiated the <\/span><b>One Ocean Finance <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">process to mobilize funding from blue economy sectors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/what-was-decided-at-the-un-oceans-conference-explained\/article69710425.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/oceandecade.org\/events\/2025-united-nations-ocean-conference\/#:~:text=The%202025%20UN%20Ocean%20Conference,and%20sustainably%20use%20the%20ocean%E2%80%9D.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UNESCO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UNOC 2025 advances ocean protection with BBNJ Treaty progress, global funding pledges, and marine conservation efforts for SDG14 goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":50901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,913,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-50875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-un-oceans-conference-2025","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}