By Angelique Pouponneau and Torsten Thiele, Co-Chairs of the BBNJ Finance Advisory Group, hosted by the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform

The adoption of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement in June 2023 represents a watershed moment in international ocean governance. Coupled with the international commitment to Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), for the first time, we have a comprehensive legal framework to conserve and sustainably manage the vast marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – the high seas and deep seabed that cover nearly two-thirds of the world’s ocean.

The true measure of this Agreement’s success will be in its implementation. Central to this challenge is finance. Article 52 establishes a financial mechanism designed to provide “adequate, accessible, new and additional and predictable financial resources” through three distinct funding vehicles: a voluntary trust fund to support participation of developing countries in meetings; a special fund; and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) trust fund to support the implementation of the Agreement.

The scale of the challenge

Conservation challenges in areas beyond national jurisdiction are immense. These regions host remarkably diverse ecosystems facing mounting threats from overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change.

Addressing these challenges requires substantial financial resources. Implementing key aspects of the Agreement, including the effective implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs), will require investment far beyond current allocations.

The GEF itself, while a critical funding mechanism for multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), has experienced only modest funding growth that fails to match growing global environmental ambitions. For perspective, the GEF’s first replenishment, GEF-1 (1994-1998), allocated USD 2.01 billion, equivalent to approximately USD 4.46 billion in 2022 dollars when adjusted for inflation. Yet GEF-8 (2022-2026) stands at just USD 5.35 billion – representing minimal real growth over nearly three decades despite dramatically expanding mandates and heightened environmental challenges.

Existing funding mechanisms for ocean conservation face limitations in addressing areas beyond national jurisdiction. Most focus on national waters or specific sectors, with access barriers and fragmentation creating inefficiencies. This underscores the urgent need for additional, accessible, and diversified funding sources.

However, the financial provisions of the BBNJ Agreement remain largely aspirational until operationalized. As we approach the meetings of the Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) and, eventually, the Conference of Parties (COP), key questions about resource mobilization, fund governance, and coordination require urgent attention.

Opportunity for new sources of finance

The BBNJ Agreement’s financial mechanism – particularly the special fund – offers a unique opportunity to establish blended financing approaches specifically tailored to high seas conservation needs.

The special fund will receive contributions from multiple sources, including annual contributions from developed country parties (set at 50% of their assessed contribution to the COP budget), monetary benefits from marine genetic resources utilization, and additional voluntary contributions from both public and private entities. This diverse funding base creates potential for more sustainable and predictable financing than traditional donor-dependent models.

Perhaps most significantly, the special fund must serve as a catalyst for mobilizing resources beyond traditional public funding channels. Unlike many traditional multilateral environmental funds, the BBNJ special fund is explicitly designed to accept contributions from “private entities wishing to provide financial resources to support the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity” (Article 52.4(b)(iii)). This design enables the special fund to potentially leverage philanthropic contributions, blended finance approaches, and impact investments that can multiply the impact of public resources by attracting private capital. By developing partnerships with, inter alia, financial institutions, philanthropic organizations, impact investors, sectoral organizations such as the shipping industry, and relevant international bodies like the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the special fund can help bridge the substantial financing gap while creating mechanisms that align commercial activities with conservation objectives.

Key priorities for operationalization

For the BBNJ financial mechanism to succeed, several priorities require urgent attention:

1. Establishing clear institutional arrangements: The COP must determine the governance structure for the special fund, providing efficiency, accountability, and accessibility. This means that the modalities of the special fund, potential hosting arrangements, and procedures for interaction with the COP have to be carefully designed to optimize effectiveness and impact.
2. Developing complementary roles: Whilst the GEF trust fund and the special fund share a joint scope, in practice their roles will be complementary as the Agreement explicitly requires the avoidance of duplication. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GEF, to be discussed at PrepCom 1, will reflect the GEF’s modalities and be constrained by funding mobilized under the GEF’s mechanisms, in particular the upcoming GEF-9 replenishment cycle. The special fund will be able to identify gaps and priorities and benefit from a specific future resource mobilization process, which will allow it to develop distinct yet complementary functions to maximize collective impact.
3. Designing accessible procedures: The BBNJ Agreement explicitly calls for “simplified application and approval procedures” for the special fund (Article 52.12). Current environmental funds often remain out of reach for developing countries due to lengthy accreditation processes, complex applications, and bureaucratic project approvals. The special fund must establish streamlined procedures that reduce administrative barriers while maintaining accountability. These processes should be co-designed with developing countries to ensure they address actual access challenges and enable effective participation across the board.
4. Mobilizing adequate resources: The COP needs to establish a resource mobilization goal through 2030 that is based on alignment with the BBNJ commitments and other international engagements. This includes Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal GBF, a pollution-free ocean, and the transition to nature-positive economies and net-zero emissions. The goal must be ambitious yet achievable, reflecting the scale of investment needed for effective implementation.
5. Establishing effective coordination: The COP will need to develop coordination mechanisms for the special fund with other elements of the BBNJ Agreement. As required by Article 52.7, procedures to avoid duplication with the GEF trust fund will be essential, while ensuring complementary functions are maintained. The COP should establish clear working relationships between the special fund and other BBNJ entities including the Scientific and Technical Body and the capacity-building and transfer of marine technology committee.

The BBNJ Agreement represents our best opportunity to protect the biodiversity of the high seas and deep seabed for current and future generations. However, its success depends on translating legal commitments into adequately resourced action. The financial mechanism established under Article 52 offers a promising foundation, but much work remains to develop it into an effective instrument for implementation.