NOC welcomes the BBNJ Bill

With the recent announcement (10th September) that the UK Government introduced the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Bill to Parliament, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) stands ready to provide continued support as the Bill passes through Parliament.

The Bill will enable the UK to implement the obligations of the BBNJ Agreement and, following subsequent secondary legislation, allow the UK to ratify the Agreement.

The BBNJ Bill is a major step forward to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction as it will enable the UK to meet its international commitments, reinforce UK leadership in global ocean governance, and support the sustainable use of marine resources.

The Agreement is a cornerstone of the global ocean framework under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Moving towards ratification aligns with the UK’s commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including the global target to conserve and manage at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.

As the only non-Government member of the UK Delegation during the Agreement negotiations and the current Preparatory Commission for the Entry into Force of the Agreement, NOC has provided long-standing support to the UK Government, providing technical advice on specialist components of the Agreement, such as ship management, marine genetic resource collection and storage, technology development and capacity building.

In parallel NOC has worked with NERC-UKRI to establish processes to ensure compliance with legally binding obligations once the Agreement comes into force and following UK ratification.

Given NOC’s historic and current open ocean research portfolio as well as managing two ocean going research vessels and the national marine equipment pool, ensuring the Agreement had limited unintended consequences in undertaking marine scientific research in areas beyond national jurisdictions (ABNJ) was a key motivator for NOC’s involvement.

Furthermore, data collected from ABNJ and the associated knowledge generated by NOC will be key in implementing several parts of the Agreement, in particular Area Based Management tools including marine protected areas, as well as evidence in support of environmental impact assessments.

Alan Evans, NOC’s Head of Marine Policy, has been involved in the BBNJ process since the establishment of the first BBNJ Preparatory Committee to elaborate text of an international legally binding instrument. He said: “Having supported the UK Government develop legal instruction that has led to the introduction of the Bill, NOC is pleased to see this latest step in the process of the UK ratifying the Agreement.

“As a well-respected contributor to the development of the Agreement, and in crafting rules of procedure and terms of reference in preparation for the first BBNJ COP, as well as being one of the first Signatories to the Agreement, the UKs contributions and commitment to the Agreement cannot be overestimated.”

NOC looks forward to continuing to provide support and work closely with UK Government as this important Bill passes through Parliament.