Philippines Hosts Regional Workshop on the BBNJ Agreement

(From left: Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office Assistant Secretary Maria Angela A. Ponce; Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs Antonio A. Morales; United Kingdom Ambassador Laure Beaufils, and Australian Deputy Head of Mission Dr. Moya Elyn Collett, and Natural Resources Defense Council Director Lisa Speer.)

MANILA 20 November 2023 – The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Australian Embassy, the British Embassy, the High Seas Alliance, the Natural Resources Defence Council, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), hosted a Southeast Asian Regional Workshop on the Agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) from 15-17 November 2023 in Manila, engaging the region’s delegations that participated in the negotiation of the BBNJ.

The adoption of the BBNJ Agreement on 19 June 2023, is a landmark achievement as it is the first comprehensive treaty on the high seas and the seabed beyond the national jurisdiction of States. It provides a global framework on marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; measures such as area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments; capacity building and the transfer of marine technology. 

The Agreement also establishes a framework of institutional arrangements for the operationalization of the Agreement, including the establishment of a Conference of Parties, Scientific and Technical Body, Clearing House Mechanism, Financial Resources and Mechanism, Implementation and Compliance Committee.  

The workshop was initiated by the Philippines to sustain the positive momentum from the historic adoption and opening for signature of the BBNJ Agreement on 20 September 2023 at the UN Headquarters in New York. DFA Secretary Enrique A. Manalo, signed for the Philippines. To date, 82 States and the European Union have signed the Agreement.  

BBNJ experts provided the workshop participants an overview of the BBNJ Agreement, its importance to the marine environment, and benefits of conserving marine biodiversity. Participants included representatives from foreign ministries, fisheries, environment, science and technology ministries, legislature/parliament, civil society, and the academe. 

The workshop opened with addresses from Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hon. Antonio A. Morales, and Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office and Head of the PH BBNJ negotiation team Hon. Maria Angela A. Ponce, H.E. Laure Beaufils, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Philippines, and Dr. Moya Elyn Collett, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy in the Philippines. Hon. Maria Antonina Yulo-Loyzaga, Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Hon. Loren Legarda, Senate President Pro Tempore also provided messages in support of the workshop. 

DFA Acting Secretary Morales, in his opening remarks, said he hopes that the Agreement enters into force without delay, and urged everyone to remain dedicated to the goals of conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Senator Legarda said that the adoption of the BBNJ Agreement was a crucial milestone, but is only the beginning, and that the next step for the Philippines is ratification and the Senate’s concurrence.  As a legislator and an advocate for the environment, she promised to commit her efforts towards ensuring that the Philippines will be part of the first Conference of Parties to the BBNJ Agreement.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Hon. Maria Antonina Yulo-Loyzaga called upon Southeast Asian countries to actively engage in the preparatory meetings for the entry into force of the Agreement and strengthen the region’s role, become champions of marine biodiversity conservation, secure ratification and promote the early entry into force of the Agreement.

The BBNJ Agreement will enter into force after the deposit of 60 instruments of ratification.  The Philippines aims to be one of the first to ratify the same, and to meaningfully take part in the establishment of the Agreement’s institutional arrangements. END

DFA Acting Secretary Morales delivering his opening remarks

Senator Legarda’s message, read by DFA-MOAO Deputy Assistant Secretary Maningat