Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 6 May 2025-A Cook Islands delegation joined Pacific regional leaders at the Regional Preparatory Meeting on the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), held from 31 March to 4 April 2025 at the Palau International Coral Reef Center.
Held in Koror, Palau from 31 March to 4 April 2025, the Cook Islands was represented by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the National Environment Service, and online support from the Ministry of Marine Resources. Co-hosted by the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC) and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Chair in New York, the event brought together regional members to strengthen preparations ahead of the first Preparatory Commission meeting for the BBNJ Agreement, which has since concluded in New York. The next session of the Preparatory Commission is scheduled for August 2025.
"Our oceans are the lifeblood of our Pacific Islands. We must ensure that future generations can inherit a healthy and thriving ocean," said His Excellency President Surangel Whipps Jr. of the Republic of Palau during his address at the Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement.
The meeting reinforced our shared regional commitment to safeguarding marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions, and to championing the principles of equity, traditional knowledge, and sustainable development. Throughout the week, participants engaged in discussions on the operationalisation of the Agreement’s financial, governance, and institutional mechanisms, including arrangements for the Secretariat, the Clearing-House Mechanism (CHM), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funding modalities.
The Cook Islands, which signed the BBNJ Agreement at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, is actively working towards its ratification. National consultations, coordinated with the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner and relevant line agencies, are scheduled for May 2025. Once 60 countries have ratified, the treaty will enter into force.
To date, 21 countries have ratified the BBNJ Agreement, including three Pacific nations, demonstrating the region’s strong commitment to the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.
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