(Commonwealth)_ The High Seas Treaty, or Agreement on BBNJ Marine Biological Diversity of the Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, came into effect on 19 September 2025 when it was ratified by 60 states. It was a win for the United Nations General Assembly in New York and a much-awaited milestone in ocean stewardship globally. Sri Lanka was among the four states that had earlier ratified the treaty in its earlier ratification, its faith in safeguarding the ocean marine world and its move towards the world endeavor of building the ocean of the world sustainably under national jurisdiction.
Sri Lanka was led for three decades by the BBNJ Agreement and was the host country of high-level intergovernmental negotiation since 2018. Sri Lanka is a prototypical long-standing case of exemplary ocean stewardship prior to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) taking effect in 1982. Ratification of the BBNJ Agreement is an affirmation of Sri Lanka’s unwavering commitment to preserving and using the marine biodiversity in a sustainable way for the people of the present and future generations.
Ratification was facilitated through cooperation between Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Australia’s National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS). Technical assistance and capacity development were provided by the Commonwealth Secretariat to Sri Lanka. It was intended to support policymakers, legal advisers, and practitioners in information and operational modalities so that they could be best placed to fully take forward the BBNJ framework.
Capacity building program for a few of the priority issues such as management of marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessment, and area-based management measure institutional development such as marine protected areas. It was aimed at marine technology transfer, institution building, and enforcement of national and international law and conventions. By technical assistance, Commonwealth Secretariat technical advisers worked with Sri Lankan officials to align national frameworks with the BBNJ Agreement and put them in readiness for the process of implementation. They outlined current institutional frameworks and gaps and proposed practicable steps towards improved compliance and operational capacity. The Sri Lankan support played a vital role in triggering the lead in launching technical cooperation as well as coordinating Sri Lanka for ratification.
BBNJ Agreement entry into force signals the dawn of a new age of high seas management because it is accompanied by a legally binding commitment to conserve and use sustainably high seas marine biodiversity. Having signed the treaty, Sri Lanka has now enshrined political goodwill as mandatory international law, upholding Sri Lanka’s leadership role in ocean conservation. The treaty will come into force on 17 January 2026, 120 days from the date of ratification by 60 states. Thereafter, treaty provisions such as mechanisms of how to identify marine protected areas, environmental impact assessment, and marine genetic resource benefit-sharing will become international force law among all the state parties. Sri Lanka joining the BBNJ Agreement is a declaration of the necessity of having strong cooperation among governments, regional actors, and experts.
In its signatures, the country overcomes disappointing institutional and regulatory barriers, a lesson other members of mankind can follow in making tangible gains toward sustainable stewardship of the seas of the world. The High Seas Treaty puts on center stage the shared obligation of all states to protect marine diversity and the seas as a heritage of life, livelihood, and ecological balance to be passed on to future generations. By becoming a party to the BBNJ Agreement, Sri Lanka is adopting an ocean stewardship best practice that highlights the potential of multilateralism in delivering global environmental solutions. Sri Lankan leadership demonstrates that collaborative planning and scientific counsel pay off in obtaining sustainable win and safeguarding the jewel of oceans for all future generations of humanity.
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