Bringing the High Seas Treaty to Life: The Critical Role of the PrepCom Process

The first session of the PrepCom took place in April 2025. So far, 139 countries have signed the BBNJ Agreement, and currently 52 countries (as well as the European Union) have formally ratified it. These growing numbers reflect a strong and persistent global commitment to ocean protection and multilateral cooperation, especially amid a backdrop of geopolitical instability and fractured international dialogue.

Why the BBNJ Agreement matters

Covering nearly half the planet, the ocean beyond national jurisdiction belongs to no single country but to all of us collectively. These vast expanses are vital to the health of our planet. They regulate the climate, sustain global fisheries, and harbour some of the most unique and least understood creatures and ecosystems on Earth. Yet for too long they have remained largely ungoverned and increasingly vulnerable to overexploitation, pollution (e.g., underwater noise and plastic pollution), and the accelerating impacts of climate change. To say their protection is long overdue is a serious understatement.

The BBNJ Agreement, a historic Agreement that took almost two decades to finalise, fills this gap by creating a legal framework to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The Agreement introduces a framework to create marine protected areas in the high seas, mandates environmental impact assessments, and mechanisms for sharing the benefits arising from marine genetic resources. Importantly, it also requires States to cooperate on capacity-building and technology transfer, ensuring that all countries, especially developing nations, can fully participate in the stewardship of our common ocean and reap its benefits.

Given the importance of the ocean to all countries – including those far from the high seas, such as landlocked states – the BBNJ Agreement represents a vital step towards ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity for the benefit of all humankind.

But the importance of the Agreement goes beyond marine conservation. It is a bold demonstration that multilateralism can still work. At a time when century-old alliances are being questioned and international organisations are struggling to reaffirm their relevance, the successful negotiation and adoption of the BBNJ Agreement under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly stands as a hopeful reminder of the enduring power and potential of multilateralism.

The Role of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom)

While the Agreement sets the vision and legal foundation, it leaves some important details to be determined, and it is now up to governments to bring its provisions to life. This is particularly true for the institutions created by the Agreement that will play a key role in its implementation. Recognising the work ahead, States agreed to establish a Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) to build this institutional foundation ahead of the Agreement’s entry into force and the first meeting of its governing body—the Conference of the Parties (CoP). The CoP is the primary decision-making body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Treaty. It is where the decisions are made.

The PrepCom process is more than just administrative housekeeping. It is the critical bridge between the Agreement’s adoption and its full implementation. Meeting twice in 2025 (in April and again now in August) and at least once in 2026, the PrepCom’s task is to develop recommendations for CoP1 on how the Agreement’s institutional foundations should be built and how it will actually operate in practice. It is about bringing the Agreement to life.

Among the key issues on the PrepCom’s agenda are proposals for the rules of procedure and working modalities of the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies (e.g., Scientific and Technical Body). These rules are fundamental because they provide the basis for good cooperation, transparency, and effective decision-making. Some might even say that shaping rules means shaping the game – and there is truth to this: the ability to determine how procedures and rules are established is an exercise of influence and determines who has a voice, how decisions are taken, and how conflicts are resolved.

Another critical topic is the discussion around funding arrangements. This includes the operationalisation of financial mechanisms and the special fund designed to support the BBNJ Agreement’s implementation. Securing sustainable and predictable funding is essential to turning commitments into real-world actions, in particular against the backdrop of the wider UN’s financial crisis. Real change for the ocean requires real resources.

With the ocean in crisis, including rising temperatures and acidification to mounting transboundary threats (including for example underwater noise pollution), this work cannot afford delay. The PrepCom process provides an opportunity to move swiftly and thoughtfully into implementation, so that once the threshold of 60 ratifications is reached, the BBNJ Agreement can enter into force with operational structures ready to go.

From paper to protection

The BBNJ Agreement is a milestone, and it has rightfully been celebrated as such in media across the globe. But it is only the beginning. The institutions it creates, the tools it enables, and the responsibilities it outlines must now be built, tested, and carried forward. That responsibility lies with governments, supported by science, and civil society from around the world.

As the PrepCom enters its second round of deliberations, it is crucial to recognise that this is far more than a box-ticking exercise. This process is about transforming commitments into concrete actions, building strong, future-proof foundations and ensuring that the ocean and its marine life, which sustain us all, finally receive the urgent protection they need and rightfully deserve.