Historic High Seas Treaty Set to Transform Ocean Conservation

Wed Oct 22 2025 13:53:22 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A breakthrough treaty aimed at protecting international waters and reviving marine biodiversity is on track to become international law after receiving its 60th ratification. The High Seas Treaty marks a significant commitment to ocean conservation and collaboration among nations.

The High Seas Treaty, aimed at protecting two-thirds of the world's oceans, receives its 60th ratification from Morocco, allowing it to come into effect in January. Environmentalists have hailed it as a monumental achievement, emphasizing its importance in reversing the damage currently faced by marine ecosystems due to climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Once operational, the treaty will enhance collaborative efforts to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in international waters.

A global agreement designed to protect the world's oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law. The High Seas Treaty received its 60th ratification by Morocco on Friday, meaning that it will now take effect from January.

The deal, which has been two decades in the making, will pave the way for international waters to be placed into marine protected areas. Environmentalists heralded the milestone as a monumental achievement and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection.

Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity, according to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Decades of overfishing, pollution from shipping, and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface. In the latest assessment of marine species, nearly 10% were found to be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Three years ago, countries agreed that 30% of the world's national and international waters – high seas – must be protected by 2030 to help depleted marine life recover. But protecting the high seas is challenging, as no one country controls these waters and all nations have the right to ship and fish there.

Currently, just 1% of the high seas are protected, leaving marine life at risk from overexploitation. So, in 2023, countries signed the High Seas Treaty pledging to put 30% of these waters into Marine Protected Areas.

The treaty required more than 60 nations to ratify it in order to enter into force. With many nations requiring parliament approval, ratification can often take more than five years. However, officials have described the recent ratification speed as record time.

Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, hailed this as a monumental achievement for ocean conservation while Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, called it a landmark moment for our oceans.

Once in force, the treaty will allow countries to propose areas for protection, which will then be voted on by signatory nations. Critics caution that countries will conduct their own environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and make the final decisions, though concerns can be raised with monitoring bodies.

The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet, contributing an estimated $2.5 trillion to global economies and providing up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe.