Op-ed by the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, Dr Filimon Manoni
In New York early this year, the global community witnessed the completion of the third and final Preparatory Commission (PrepCom3) to lay the platform for the first Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, which is due to be held in early January 2027.
PrepCom3 saw our Pacific negotiators working down to the wire to reach consensus on how to facilitate the smooth operationalization of the Agreement at the first BBNJ COP. Many issues were resolved, while some areas will need further negotiation at the inaugural gathering. Pacific negotiators expertly navigated difficult waters, showing flexibility and agility to ensure global readiness for COP1.
As Pacific Ocean Commissioner, I have seen first-hand how delegates from the Pacific region have consistently approached the BBNJ negotiations and lead-up processes with a genuine interest in a robust regime. This was done through a cohesive and truly unified regional bloc approach, fostering the region’s unique defining issues, exemplary political leadership by Forum Leaders and dedication by our negotiators. The central regional positioning, on issues defining challenges and opportunities for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), include access and benefit sharing; equity in terms of monetary and non- monetary benefits and representation through various bodies; furthering the interests of Indigenous peoples, local communities and traditional knowledge; accessible financing mechanisms; and ocean protection and management. The region’s priorities echoed loudly throughout the halls of the UN at these BBNJ negotiations.
To support our Pacific delegates in the global negotiations, the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) has, through support from Australia, facilitated the participation of close to a hundred Pacific delegates to attend the Intergovernmental Conference and Preparatory Commission processes in the last decade. The investment and time dedicated by our Pacific delegates, including those in our New York-based Missions, has been instrumental for the past decade and crucial to the region’s success.
This has been driven through a concerted effort with the Forum Leaders continuing to play a direct hand and role in terms of providing the guidance and mandate for the Pacific delegations attending the BBNJ process. The Forum Leaders’ mandate on BBNJ dates back to 2016. In 2023, the Forum Leaders’ annual communique acknowledged the conclusion of the negotiations on the global BBNJ Agreement and encouraged Members to sign the Agreement. In 2024 and 2025, the Forum Leaders’ communique mandated OPOC as the coordinating lead for the regional organisations and members of the Pacific Ocean Alliance (POA) to support members in the signature, ratification and implementation of the BBNJ agreement.
Although the BBNJ Agreement has come at a time when the utility of multilateralism is being constantly questioned, the speed at which the agreement moved from “endorsement” in September of 2023 to “entry into force” in January of 2026 signals that multilateralism is very much alive, and is evidence of a near universal commitment to closing management gaps in areas beyond national jurisdiction. As the Preparatory Commission concluded on Thursday 03 April, 88 countries had ratified the
BBNJ Agreementt, including eight countries from the Pacific Islands region. It seems the world will see more ratifications from our region in order to have a stronger say at the upcoming COP processes. It’s in the interest of the entire region for Pacific countries to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, as doing so will allow for a more robust and accountable intergovernmental process.
The entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement is a major step forward in ocean governance. It helps us to finally close management gaps through a robust international legal framework covering ocean spaces that had remained ungoverned for too long – areas that many have called the “wild wild west” of the ocean.
The BBNJ regime is a call for activating collaboration among the different sectoral high seas regimes, including the IMO, Regional Fisheries Management bodies (RFMOs), the regional seas programme, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and member states’ continental shelf claims, among others. The most pressing hurdle for BBNJ, as the “new kid on the block,” is to get these different longstanding regimes to come together and operate as an integrated system of governance that’s cognizant of the General Assembly mandate, all while ensuring that the BBNJ Agreement does not undermine existing instruments.
Now, with the overwhelming momentum of the BBNJ behind us, we in the Pacific cannot rest on our laurels. We must ensure the political leadership creates the enabling environment to foster collaboration in the interest of our region. It could be the case that a resolve would be for these sectors to gather on a frequent basis with the help of the regional architecture to define the roles they each play in this modern seascape. In such conversations, finding the right balanced approach must be prioritized in order for the highly contested areas to become areas of nurturing rather than competition.
For the Pacific, the entry into force of the BBNJ Agreement is a critical piece of the puzzle that helps our region fully realise the narrative of the “Blue Pacific Continent,” which was adopted by our Forum Leaders in 2017. It is an instrument that seeks to level the playing field by promoting equity, fairness and opportunity for SIDS. The high seas areas that lay between our national jurisdictions can now really serve as the connectors of the different pieces of the “continental blue economy” puzzle.
As the BBNJ Agreement treaty comes into force, it creates an important opportunity for the region. If anything, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Pacific win on getting through Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14) on the ocean proves the success of Pacific diplomacy, that with the right political will and leadership, solidarity and persistence, anything is achievable. And so here, we must pay tribute to our Pacific Leaders for their vision and wisdom.
The vision is that, through the BBNJ Agreement, the high seas areas in our part of the world – which hold major ecological, economic and social value – can now be harnessed across our respective national zones as a connected maritime estate or whole “blue economy.” It is widely known that the Pacific peoples have long carried a legacy of moral stewardship and custodianship of these large ocean spaces. The protection and management of the ocean is a life-giving action and must be recognised by the world and the global community. We are safeguarding a body of the ocean that covers more than half of the planet, and that directly supports the vital services that humanity and all life on Earth rely on.
A very good example of success is how well the Pacific is managing fisheries, contributing 50 percent-60 percent of the global tuna supply, thereby providing food security and nutrition to communities across the globe. In fact, our regional experts often refer to our ocean as the “biggest blue lung” and endowment of the planet.
This understanding of Pacific peoples’ stewardship requires strategic elevation, as well as significant “blue financing” for the “continental blue economy.” We must also link the power of ocean connectivity with other key thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, such as climate change in its many facets, fisheries development, disaster, peace and security and socio-economic development. The BBNJ Agreement in this manner supports the 2050 Strategy and its implementation by addressing the protection and management of the region’s largest natural capital and endowment, our Pacific Ocean, in addition to supporting the other 2050 Strategy themes.
It is high time for the Pacific as a region to see the opportunity ushered in by the BBNJ Agreement as a new blue frontier to be harnessed – and to unlock the real intergenerational prosperity that our region deserves.
To make this a reality, a shift must happen. With the exception of fisheries, the ocean has for far too long been on the periphery of our regional discourse. We, as the Pacific region, must all agree to situate the ocean as the region’s largest natural capital at the very heart of the regional agenda and regionalism. As Pacific Ocean Commissioner, I remain committed to delivering on this vision, first and foremost by realising this new frontier enabled through the BBNJ Agreement and the mega financing it deserves.
I also look earnestly to deliver on the mandate vested in me by the Forum Leaders. The involvement of OPOC in coordinating the regional machinery to support our Pacific members has been exemplary; it should serve as a blueprint for future regional coordinating machineries. This is definitely a machinery that is needed as we look ahead to the implementation phase. And so, I call upon our CROP Teams, the POA and all partners from within and beyond our region to work closely with my office through the BBNJ coordination mechanism so we may continue to support our Members in turning the ocean aspirations of our Blue Pacific Continent into reality.
