Senior officials mostly legal representatives from the Pacific are in Suva, Fiji this week for an inaugural legal workshop on the landmark treaty on ocean governance concerning areas beyond national jurisdiction, commonly known as the BBNJ Agreement as Members look ahead to implementation.
The three-day workshop is timely as the world’s first legally binding agreement aimed at protecting biological diversity and thriving, sensitive and fragile ecosystems in areas beyond national jurisdictions entered into force last weekend, after almost two decades of negotiations.
Pacific Ocean Commissioner Dr Filimon Manoni said riding on that momentum, the workshop aimed to strengthen regional coordination, information sharing and awareness on the BBNJ Agreement in the context of our own Pacific.
“We trust that this workshop will allow you, the participants both legal and policy experts who are here in the room an added incentive to ensure that you are effectively addressing the important issues in laying the groundwork in your own jurisdictions looking ahead to the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. We trust that this information sharing platform will give you an opportunity to hear experiences from within the region as well as those from other regions of the globe on their experiences in terms of strategies to domesticate and implement the BBNJ Agreement at the national level.”
Esther O’Brien, Minister Counsellor of the Solomon Islands High Commission to Fiji speaking on behalf of the Forum Chair said that when it came to BBNJ, their efforts must be consistent as “this is a space where our own Pacific negotiations have spent close to 20 years being actively engaged in, from its inception, its negotiations, to its adoption and now it’s coming in force on 17 January 2026.”
At the end of the workshop, there would be a roadmap on the regional implementation of the BBNJ agreement and a shared understanding of how they could effectively strategise to implement the BBNJ Agreement at the national level.
“And for those of who have yet to complete the ratification process, it is my hope that the knowledge gained here at this legal workshop will give you confidence and equip you to bring that work to completion,” she said. At the margins of the workshop, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner hosted a reception for members of the diplomatic corp based in Suva and Pacific Ocean Alliance partners, to commemorate the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement.
Today, there are 145 signatories and 84 parties to the BBNJ Agreement. Eight countries from the Pacific have ratified the agreement- Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
