Overview
- Entering into force on January 17, the treaty follows the 60-ratification threshold and 120-day period, with 83 countries now party to it.
- Parties must immediately apply environmental impact assessments to activities that could affect international waters and publicly notify those activities.
- The agreement enables proposals for high-seas marine protected areas to help meet the 30% by 2030 conservation goal, with sites such as the Sargasso Sea, the Emperor Seamounts, and the Salas y Gómez–Nazca ridges cited by advocates.
- A Preparatory Commission is shaping operational details ahead of the first COP in New York, which will decide on rules, budgets, a secretariat, and a scientific body.
- The United States has signed but not ratified and will participate as an observer without voting rights, while supporters press for swift implementation and credible monitoring and enforcement.