By Vrinda Suresh, Julia Mason and Doug Rader
During the last two weeks of August 2022, delegates from across the globe gathered in New York City for the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Conference, or IGC5, to develop a new treaty to protect biodiversity in offshore waters, called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, or BBNJ Agreement. The BBNJ Agreement specifically addresses high seas waters, which include all areas more than 200 nautical miles from coastlines and fall outside the management authority of individual countries. The high seas make up nearly 60% of Earth’s oceans. Read More