On 16 April 2025, during the Preparatory Commission held in New York from 14-25 April, partners from the EU-funded projects BlueRemediomics and BIOcean5D, along with the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) and the Office Français de la Biodiversité, launched a new Policy Brief covering issues related to Science and Research Cooperation under the BBNJ Agreement. The Policy Brief, Strengthening the Science and Policy Dialogue: BBNJ Agreement and the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) was produced following a workshop co-organised by Tara Ocean Foundation (FTO) and the Guirguis Lab (Harvard University) that took place in Paris from 29-30 March.

The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), is also known as the High Seas Treaty or Ocean Biodiversity Treaty. Adopted on 19 June 2023, the Treaty protects the deep sea through conservation measures like marine protected areas and promotes equity through rules about sharing the benefits from research on marine genetic resources (MGR) of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ).

“The design of the BBNJ regime should incentivise fair, inclusive, transparent, and iterative processes that promote scientifically and technically guided decision-making for improved ocean governance. The Paris Workshop was timely and addressed the very question of the science/technical policy interface in the BBNJ regime. It is important that we have a diversity of views to inform this debate and I commend the organisers for inviting not only government representatives but also representatives from academia, and industry,” stated BlueRemediomics partner André Abreu, Head for International Policy in FTO and keynote speaker of the workshop.

Key take-away messages include examining the structure and operation of the BBNJ's institutional arrangements with an emphasis on the decision-making process and concentrating on the text of the BBNJ Agreement when responding to implementation questions to ensure that practical considerations do not divert from the negotiators' intent and to avoid relitigating contentious issues. The Policy Brief aims to progress discussions, to ensure the BBNJ Agreement is efficiently implemented. This week FTO will be continuing these discussions at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, during the side event ‘From Treaty to Action: Multi-Stakeholder Co-operation for the High Seas’ taking place on 11 June 2025. UNOC is the largest ocean conference ever organised, with more than 10,000 people expected to gather, it will provide opportunities for agreements to be finalised and new pledges to be made.

FTO is BlueRemediomics Work Package 6 leader, working alongside ERINN Innovation on Outreach Activities. BIOcean5D is a European multidisciplinary initiative studying marine life and its transformations across space, time, and human impact.

Download the Policy Brief