Germany officially joins the UN High Seas Protection Agreement

The United Nations High Seas Convention has been in force since the beginning of the year. It is the legal basis for the protection of international waters on the high seas. Now Germany has also officially joined the UN agreement. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider deposited the corresponding ratification document with the United Nations.

The SPD politician praised the agreement as the greatest international environmental success in recent years. “The agreement proves that even in confrontational times, the principle of cooperation still meets with great approval internationally,” said Schneider on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

An agreement for around two thirds of the sea area

The UN High Seas Protection Agreement is officially called the “Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (BBNJ Agreement). It applies to the regions of the sea that lie outside national territorial waters up to twelve nautical miles and outside the national economic zone up to 200 nautical miles. This covers two thirds of the sea area.

Only healthy seas can provide people with oxygen and food, explained Schneider. However, their condition is currently poor: plastic waste, overfishing, chemicals and climate change are polluting the world's oceans. This makes it all the more important to create retreat spaces in which nature can recover. Experience shows that this will return if sea areas become protected areas.

First ocean COP in January

According to the Environment Ministry, the UN agreement and the High Seas Protection Act necessary for its implementation at the national level, which was passed by the Bundestag in the spring, will become binding for German actors 30 days after accession, i.e. on October 21st. This means that German organizations and people, including ships flying the German flag or German deep-sea researchers, must then adhere to the rules of the agreement.

In addition to the establishment of marine protected areas, this also includes, among other things, binding environmental impact assessments of human activities in the waters. The agreement also regulates the handling of samples of marine animals and plants. Poorer countries in the global south should also be supported in the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity.

The first conference of the parties to the United Nations High Seas Convention, the so-called Ocean COP, is scheduled to take place in New York in January 2027. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the designation of marine protected areas is unlikely to begin until later conferences.