High Seas Policy Presents Historic Opportunity for Climate Change Adaptation, Scientists Say

In a new paper, scientists detail how the new High Seas Treaty can help protect marine species within the warming waters of a changing ocean

ARLINGTON, Va. (June 12, 2024) – As soon as next year, the ocean’s vast international waters could – for the first time – have rules for comprehensive biodiversity protection, once the widely anticipated U.N. High Seas Treaty secures the 60 national ratifications needed for it to enter into force. As nations convene later this month to determine the institutions and processes needed to implement the Treaty, scientists stress in a new paper published today in Nature the importance of accounting for the specific challenges posed by the climate crisis.

The “high seas” – all international waters and seafloor outside any one country’s jurisdiction – is an area still not fully known to science. It comprises two-thirds of the world’s ocean and is one of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on Earth, providing migratory routes for species such as whales, sharks and tuna and hosting unique deep-sea ecosystems. However, only 1% of these waters are fully protected. The need for protections throughout the high seas is essential to meeting global sustainability goals such as the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Framework and its targets, including protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30x30).

The new paper – by authors from Conservation International and partners, entitled “To save the high seas, plan for climate change” – outlines why and how the High Seas Treaty on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) has the unique opportunity to factor climate-driven marine changes into its implementation framework. As governments prepare for the Treaty’s entry into force, the scientists argue that critical questions must be taken into account on how best to define and implement high seas Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), particularly for migratory species whose habitats and migration patterns are shifting due to warming waters, changing ocean currents and altered food webs.

“Protecting high seas biodiversity in the face of climate change is an ongoing chess game,” said Dr. Lee Hannah, Senior Scientist of Climate Change Biology at Conservation International’s Moore Center for Science and lead author of the paper. “Everything from whales to fish are moving to track warming waters. This ocean upheaval, due largely to climate change, can be addressed by the High Seas Treaty, which is why its swift ratification is so important.”

The paper introduces three crucial steps that the High Seas Treaty must take to effectively address climate change impacts on species:

• collaborate with fisheries management and other high seas organizations to conserve moving species;
• coordinate strategic plans for conservation networks across the high seas and national jurisdictions; and
• share and build scientific capacity across jurisdictions for modeling ocean ecosystem dynamics and movements of species in response to climate change. 

Each of the three steps, the authors suggest, will help answer critical questions about how to demarcate MPAs for species that may soon shift outside of their current ranges, including those species that migrate vast distances across the ocean.

“We need to be thinking on two timelines at once – how the species in the high seas live now, and how they might live decades from now as climate change worsens. And of course, it’s made all the more complicated that no one country is in charge of the high seas, it’s a global group effort. But that’s why it’s so important to start planning now, so we have a solid roadmap by the time the Treaty has entered into force and is ready to be implemented,” said Hannah.

Currently, seven countries have ratified the High Seas Treaty and 90 have signed it, thereby signaling their intent to ratify. The High Seas Alliance is campaigning for at least 60 nations’ ratifications to be secured by the third UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.

“Our success in responding to the climate and biodiversity crises also depends on how we can adapt to a constantly changing environment,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance. “As governments gather this month to decide the processes to implement the Treaty, we have an important opportunity to factor in effective responses to marine protection and get ahead of the curve on climate change impacts in over two-thirds of the world’s ocean.”

The paper was co-authored by scientists from several member organizations of the High Seas Alliance, including Conservation International, BirdLife International and Oceans North. Other authors representing Blue Nature Alliance, University of California Santa Barbara, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dalhousie University, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management also contributed to the paper.

In addition to Hannah, Conservation International Research Scientist Isaac Brito-Morales is also a co-author.

At the time of publication, the High Seas Treaty has been ratified by Belize, Chile, Mauritius, Micronesia, Monaco, Palau and Seychelles.

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ADDITIONAL QUOTES

“The new High Seas Treaty offers a unique opportunity to establish a mechanism for conserving biodiversity and achieving the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans. Climate change must not be ignored. It is time to formally address it and create solutions aligned with this challenge. A global commitment, rather than fragmented efforts, is key to safeguarding our unique aquatic ecosystem.” – Isaac Brito-Morales, Conservation International & University of California at Santa Barbara 

“Marine life is not constrained by national borders. With species on the move in a warming ocean, developing effective marine conservation networks on the High Seas requires commitment from all relevant parties to effectively coordinate in order to protect biodiversity in the face of climate change.” – Derek Tittensor, Dalhousie University

“We know that there are many marine species that are vulnerable to climate change. Planning for their protection as they change their distribution will be important in achieving the commitments to protect biodiversity. Many of the pieces are already in place, but a concerted effort will be needed by scientists and governance bodies to manage new threats and implement new tools - including those envisioned under the High Seas Treaty.” – Susanna Fuller, Oceans North

“The High Seas Treaty is an exciting opportunity for the conservation of our ocean and the chance to implement actions based on the best available science, including accounting for climate change. All efforts on the high seas will need co-ordination with relevant sectoral bodies, and the Northeast Atlantic is an excellent example of where proactive discussions on area-based management are already happening. BirdLife International led a huge collaborative effort to discover the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea-basin (NACES) Marine Protected Area (MPA), and we hope rapid ratification of the High Seas Treaty will follow so we can continue our work in protecting our oceans and marine biodiveristy.” – Tammy Davies, BirdLife International

“The UN High Seas Treaty will enable a step change in multilateral ocean conservation that can build from existing regional efforts and experiences such as the OSPAR NACES MPA. Implementation of the treaty will encounter many political, administrative and scientific challenges. Building in climate change considerations such as the effects ranges and behaviours of marine speciues already at the start of implementation will be far stronger than adapting later. Planning for that is needed now to ensure appropriate mechanisms for scientific support.” – Richard Emmerson, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management

“Coordination is essential for effective protection of the marine environment. Approximately 40% of the OSPAR maritime area is in areas beyond national jurisdiction. As such OSPAR Contracting Parties have welcomed the adoption of the BBNJ Agreement as an important step in providing a legal basis for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ. The BBNJ Agreement complements OSPAR’s mandate and its actions in the North-East Atlantic. This important and timely paper highlights the opportunity that the BBNJ Agreement provides and the importance of working together on issues that are not limited by national boundaries, like climate change.” – Dominic Pattinson, OSPAR Commission Secretariat

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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

About High Seas Alliance: Since its founding in 2011, the High Seas Alliance with its 50+ non-governmental members and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, has been working towards protecting the High Seas; the global ocean beyond national jurisdiction. High Seas Alliance members work together to inspire, inform and engage the public, decision-makers and experts to support and strengthen High Seas governance and conservation, as well as cooperating towards the establishment of High Seas marine protected areas. The High Seas Alliance played a leading role in the years of negotiations to reach the High Seas Treaty* Agreement on 4 March 2023. Its current priority is to ensure that the Treaty enters into force as soon as possible. Find out more about the #RaceForRatification and track countries’ progress on the High Seas Alliance Ratification Tracker. Read more about the High Seas Treaty in this factsheet and FAQs.

About BirdLife International: BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, comprising 122 partners across the globe and regional offices in Amman, Brussels, Cambridge, Dakar, Nairobi, Singapore, Suva, Tokyo and Quito. We have more than 13 million individual members and supporters, and through our unique local-to-global approach and world-class science, we deliver high-impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of people and nature. Find out more.