Deep Dives BBNJ COP1

26 August, 2026

Welcome to our BBNJ COP 1 resource hub. Ahead of the first Conference of the Parties to the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, we are publishing concise policy briefs to help navigate key negotiation topics on the institutional set up of the BBNJ Agreement or High Seas Treaty.

Our initial brief is available below, with additional policy briefs to be released as the conference approaches. Please check back regularly for updated analyses and insights.

To explore our past PrepCom briefings, visit our past PrepCom briefings page.

  • The Financial Mechanism: What ambition looks like at BBNJ CoP1 and beyond. Available here. 

PrepCom Deep Dives

9 April, 2025

New PrepCom 3 Deep Dives

The following policy briefs provide the latest up-to-date insights into key issues under consideration at the third BBNJ Preparatory Commission. Additional briefings will be shared in the coming weeks.

Past PrepCom Deep Dives

The following policy briefs were made for the first and second BBNJ PrepCom, and may be out of date:

Briefings: Deep Dives into the provisions of the BBNJ Agreement

15 November, 2023

On 19 June 2023, the international community adopted the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty). The Agreement opened for State signature on 20 September 2023 and will remain open for signature for two years. It will enter into force 120 days after 60 State ratifications. Until then, signatories are obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the Agreement.

This series of briefings explains the key provisions of the BBNJ Agreement: