Protecting our oceans for future generations

Here's a striking paradox: oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface, yet we know less about their depths than we do about the surface of the moon. Despite being our planet's life support system – regulating climate, producing oxygen and supporting the livelihoods of billions – oceans remain largely "out of sight, out of mind" in global policy discussions.

This week, ocean advocates, scientists and policymakers are gathering in Nice, France, for the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. The conference marks a significant turning point: a recognition that oceans must be at the heart of global sustainability efforts, and also an awareness that while we need to confront urgent marine crises, we must also look to the future and shape new institutions that will effectively govern vast swaths of our planet for generations to come.

The blue planet in peril: the ocean crisis we can’t ignore

Decades of overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change impacts are pushing marine ecosystems toward collapse. Since 1950, with the onset of industrialized fisheries, the entire fisheries resource base has been reduced to less than 10 per cent worldwide. Emerging threats like deep-sea mining risk further irreversible harm to ecosystems we still barely understand. 

How did we get here? Most global oceans consist of high seas – waters beyond 200 nautical miles from any country's coastline. For decades, these vast spaces have been governed by the principle of "freedom of the high seas", with little regulation. What happens in international waters affects coastal communities, global climate systems and marine life that migrates across boundaries. Recognizing the negative impact of unregulated activity, countries have spent almost two decades negotiating a solution: the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), adopted in 2023.

The treaty will be a critical topic of conversation at the Ocean Conference where delegates will seek to mobilize support for its ambitious agenda: fairly sharing benefits from marine genetic resources; establishing marine protected areas in the high seas; requiring environmental impact assessments for high-seas activities; and building capacity and transferring technology between nations. The agreement provides governance for about half of the Earth's surface and 95 per cent of the volume of the world’s oceans.

The high seas are the last wild west of our earth; and the BBNJ Agreement represents humanity’s most ambitious attempt to protect this vast global commons for future generations. But, while 21 countries have ratified the treaty so far, it still needs 60 ratifications to enter into force. And even when the treaty is ratified, much of the work will still need to be done. After all, the treaty says what needs to be governed, but much of the how will still need to be decided.

A critical window: designing institutions for future generations

The BBNJ Agreement is set to establish new institutions  – a Conference of Parties, a Secretariat, a Scientific and Technical Body and a Clearing-House Mechanism – but their exact structure and powers are still being defined in ongoing preparatory committee meetings (PrepComs).

This important moment in international governance offers a critical window to secure the rights of future generations. A treaty is only as strong as the institutions and mechanisms that support it, and institutions and laws, especially at the international level, are notoriously difficult to change once established. The decisions being made in the ongoing PrepCom meetings will shape how oceans are governed for decades, possibly centuries.

The institutional design choices we make for the BBNJ Agreement could also set precedents for governing other global commons – from the atmosphere to Antarctica. Healthy oceans are essential for climate regulation, food security and coastal protection; what happens in the high seas affects earth systems globally, and the institutions we design need to recognize these connections and represent the full range of affected interests.

Four keys to future-proofing ocean governance

So how do we design institutions that will govern oceans in a way that serves the interests and needs of future generations? Based on lessons from other international bodies and the unique challenges of ocean governance, here are four recommendations:

1. Ensure representative and transparent decision-making. We need to ensure that a diverse and representative group is making decisions – not just those with the loudest voices or the most immediate interests. That means ensuring strong geographical balance so that Small Island Developing States, whose very survival depends on ocean health, have as much say as major maritime powers.

Representation cannot stop at national governments. We need more innovative models like the Arctic Council which includes Indigenous organizations as Permanent Participants, giving them full consultation rights. This kind of structure brings in knowledge systems, lived experience and long-term perspectives that often go unheard in traditional negotiations.

While future generations can’t represent themselves, others can speak for their interests. Civil society groups, Indigenous groups and even a UN Special Envoy for Future Generations could play this role. This requires building institutions that are open, transparent and accessible – because when negotiations are hidden behind closed doors, short-term political and economic pressures tend to win out.

2. Build adaptive capacity into institutional design. The challenges facing the ocean will continue to shift – sometimes in ways we can predict, often in ways we can’t. The institutions being built under the BBNJ Agreement must be able to evolve and adapt. Otherwise, we risk locking ourselves into rules that are obsolete before they are even fully implemented.

Science moves faster than international law. Marine genetic resources – now central to cutting-edge biotechnology – were not even a concept when the Law of the Sea was negotiated in the 1980s. We have an opportunity to build adaptability into the BBNJ institutions from the start, creating governance that can evolve alongside our understanding of the ocean.

The Conference of Parties will be central to embedding flexibility as a core feature of governance. It must have the authority and tools to regularly assess whether current rules remain fit for purpose – and to revise them when they don’t. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, for instance, includes a formal midterm review to help keep policies aligned with emerging risks.

3. Establish sustainable funding mechanisms. Securing sustainable, predictable financing will be one of the defining challenges for the BBNJ Agreement. Climate negotiations have made this lesson clear: ambitious targets have often been undermined by fragmented or uncertain funding flows. The institutions established under BBNJ will need financial stability to support long-term implementation, capacity-building and equitable participation.

This may require thinking beyond traditional donor models. Options could include innovative mechanisms such as levies on high-seas activities, contributions from the commercialization of marine genetic resources or dedicated international funds. Whatever the model, the principle is the same: lasting institutions need lasting support.

4. Develop metrics that matter for future generations. How we measure success shapes institutional behavior. If BBNJ institutions focus primarily on economic indicators or short-term outputs, they risk optimizing for the wrong outcomes. To build ocean governance capable of meeting tomorrow’s challenges, we need metrics that capture ecological health, resilience and regenerative capacity, not just immediate economic returns. This aligns with broader efforts to move beyond Gross Domestic Product as the sole measure of progress, embracing frameworks that value sustainability and well-being over short-term growth.

Our responsibility to the future

The institutions we design now will govern the largest habitat on Earth for generations. We are at a rare moment where foundational choices can still be influenced. But, this window will not stay open forever.

While the UN Ocean Conference offers a crucial opportunity to build momentum for both BBNJ ratification and thoughtful institutional design, public attention and engagement are urgently needed to shape the institutions that emerge from the conference. This kind of work does not often make headlines. It is not as visible as creating protected areas or launching new marine technologies; but designing institutions – carefully, transparently and with long-term resilience in mind – is needed to make these other actions possible. The quiet architecture of governance will shape what kind of ocean future generations inherit. Let’s make sure those institutions are built to last.