The Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, at the press conference she held at the Ministry's headquarters
Spain has today ratified the Treaty on Marine Biological Diversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty or BBNJ) with the deposit of the instrument by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC) at the UN headquarters in New York.
Spain thereby becomes the first EU country to ratify this agreement. The announcement was made to this effect by the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, at a press conference in which she pointed out the importance of this "historic agreement". The vice-president declared that "today our country is once again demonstrating, through actions, its commitment to the environmental agenda, to multilateralism and to a global project where the search for prosperity for all goes hand in hand with the necessary protection of global public goods".
As the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has stressed in various speeches, Spain is once again executing a coherent foreign policy, with leadership in the field of climate diplomacy and the strengthening of rules-based multilateralism, the cornerstones of Spanish foreign action. The MAEC has actively taken part in the process of adopting the BBNJ, facilitating its ratification in a very short period of time.
At the press conference held this afternoon, the minister was accompanied by Juan Carlos del Olmo, secretary general of WWF Spain, and Eva Saldaña, executive director of Greenpeace Spain, who also highlighted the value of the Global Oceans Treaty.
Global Oceans Treaty
The BBNJ establishes a robust legal framework for all activities in the ocean and seas. It regulates human activities on the high seas, allows for their protection through the designation of marine protected areas, and establishes a mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising from the exploitation of marine genetic resources. It is a regulatory development of the environmental aspects provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Specifically, the framework commits to declaring 30% of the high seas a protected area by 2030. The treaty will therefore play a crucial role in achieving the global 30x30 target agreed during the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Ratification by at least 60 countries is required for the treaty to enter into force. Once that number is reached, 120 days must pass. Chile, which is bidding to host the BBNJ, was the first country to ratify. It did so one year ago, on 20 February 2024. According to the UN register, in addition to Spain, 15 countries have already ratified the treaty: Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Chile, Cuba, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau, Panama, Seychelles, Singapore, St. Lucia, Timor-Leste.
Background
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, signed the BBNJ in September 2023, when Spain presided over the Council of the EU. Following this signature, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the MAEC raised to the Council of Ministers the agreement to refer the BBNJ to Parliament on 9 July 2024. Subsequently, once the authorisation of the Spanish Parliament had been obtained, the MAEC submitted the agreement to formalise the ratification with the deposit of the instrument today, 4 February 2025.
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