Africa must ride the High Seas Treaty wave

The BBNJ Agreement, or High Seas Treaty, aims to regulate 64% of the ocean's surface through four pillars: marine genetic resources, area-based management, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building. While the African Group of Negotiators helped shape the treaty, ratification among African states remains low, with only seven of 55 countries having completed the process. Non-ratifying states risk exclusion from the Conference of the Parties (COP) decision-making and benefit-sharing arrangements for marine genetic resources. The document highlights the potential for designating marine protected areas near Africa, such as the Walvis Ridge and Saya de Malha Bank, and suggests that African states coordinate ministries and adopt cost-effective surveillance technologies, like uncrewed vessels, to manage these areas.

• The BBNJ Agreement addresses regulatory gaps in the high seas, which cover 64% of the ocean's total surface, by focusing on four pillars: marine genetic resources and benefit sharing, area-based management tools (including marine protected areas), environmental impact assessments, and capacity building and technology transfer.
• African ratification of the BBNJ treaty is lagging; while 34 African countries have signed, only seven out of 55 have officially completed their ratification processes. Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde have ratified but have not yet deposited their instruments with the UN.
• Countries that fail to ratify the treaty risk losing decision-making power at the Conference of the Parties (COP), the ability to designate high seas protected areas, and access to benefit-sharing arrangements for marine genetic resources and BBNJ financial mechanisms.
• The treaty enables the designation of marine protected areas in ecologically significant zones adjacent to Africa, specifically the Walvis Ridge in the Southeast Atlantic and the Saya de Malha Bank between the Seychelles and Mauritius, to support biodiversity and fisheries.
• To prepare for implementation, African states should coordinate across various ministries and consider uncrewed surface and underwater vessels as a cost-effective solution for the monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement of protected areas.

APA

Willima, D., & Reva, D. (2025). Africa must ride the High Seas Treaty wave. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-must-ride-the-high-seas-treaty-wave

Chicago

Willima, David, and Denys Reva. Africa must ride the High Seas Treaty wave. Institute for Security Studies, 2025. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-must-ride-the-high-seas-treaty-wave.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Willima |first1=David |last2=Reva |first2=Denys |title=Africa must ride the High Seas Treaty wave |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=30 July 2025 |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-must-ride-the-high-seas-treaty-wave |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{willima2025africa, author = {Willima, David and Reva, Denys}, title = {{Africa must ride the High Seas Treaty wave}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-must-ride-the-high-seas-treaty-wave}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }