The BBNJ agreement, which focuses on conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, will soon be officially adopted.
In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly decided (according to the resolution 72/249 ) [i] to convene an Intergovernmental Conference under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea to develop an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction – (BBNJ ). The BBNJ has drawn international attention over the past 15 years [ii] . The president of the BBNJ negotiations is Ms. Rena Lee, Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs . In accordance with resolution 72/249, the Conference addressed the topics identified in a package agreed in 2011, namely [iii] : · The conservation and sustainable use of marine BBNJ; · Marine genetic resources, including questions on benefit-sharing (MGR); · Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including marine protected areas; ·