Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, Thoriq Ibrahim, has called for the swift ratification and implementation of the United Nations Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the High Seas Treaty.
He made these remarks while speaking at the Ocean Action Panel titled "Leveraging Ocean, Climate and Biodiversity Interlinkages," held on the sidelines of the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
During the meeting, Minister Thoriq called for the ratification and early implementation of the BBNJ or High Seas Treaty. The Minister noted that this treaty is an agreement that will play an important role in addressing issues related to the ocean, biodiversity, and climate change.
The Maldivian government signed this treaty, which relates to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, on September 4, 2024. It was ratified on September 24, 2024. By the time the Maldives signed the treaty, a total of 91 countries had signed it, and a total of 8 countries had ratified it. The treaty, which is open for signature by all countries until September 20, 2025, will enter into force 120 days after the 60th country ratifies it.
Following the signing of this treaty, Minister Thoriq Ibrahim stated at the time that, as a large ocean state, he views this as a historic achievement for the Maldives. He also stated that this is an important milestone achieved by the Maldives in protecting and sustainably using marine life.
While protecting all natural resources within the maritime zone of the Maldives is a very high responsibility of the country, ensuring that the areas beyond the maritime zone of the Maldives are protected and used sustainably is part of fulfilling that responsibility.
Under this treaty, procedures for protecting large ocean areas have been established. In addition, the treaty includes provisions related to sharing technical marine information and formal matters related to taking action on climate change. As these are important for protecting the benefits derived from the maritime zone of the Maldives, participating in this treaty will bring immense benefits to the Maldives.
