About Living High Seas
Background
In late 2023, the German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV), through its International Climate Initiative (IKI), launched a call for projects to support creation of protected area proposals for BBNJ. Following a competitive review process, the Living High Seas proposal was selected to go forward to project planning phase (April-December 2025), during which a detailed proposal will be developed for a 5-6 year project to drive development of proposals for area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), in selected areas of the world’s ocean.
Led by the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), the Living High Seas project brings together partnerships and networks, specialist and MPA best practice expertise, and on-the-ground capacity development experience – building on a broad portfolio and track record of science, policy, technology and knowledge interventions. National and regional cooperation partners will be engaged by the consortium to support project implementation, with the aim to utilise and strengthen local expertise, leadership, mandates and competent authority roles as much as possible. The consortium will engage interested third party BBNJ pioneers to leverage broader and intensified support, yielding ambitious impacts for high seas protected area action.
Effective protection of the global ocean is key to safeguarding our planet’s natural balance. While the area covered by MPAs within national jurisdictions has increased over the years, marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) – which comprise about half of the planet’s marine area and 64% of the ocean surface – have lacked a global and legally binding framework for establishing MPAs until recently. This gap was closed in June 2023 when the new agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (in short, BBNJ Agreement) was adopted. Swift and focused action is now required to turn the ambitions of the BBNJ Agreement into realities, which at the same time will drive substantive progress towards achieving the 30×30 target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the CBD. Regionally balanced and geographically representative leadership of future BBNJ contracting parties, especially by those with emerging and developing economies located in the global south, is needed to drive the development of the first high seas MPAs under this new instrument, filling the Agreement with life.
Current status
The Living High Seas project proposal has been pre-selected for funding under the International Climate Initiative. The final decision will be made following review of the full project proposal and is contingent on meeting stringent technical standards and the availability of funds. Currently, a detailed project planning exercise is being undertaken and cooperation with the proposed partner countries finalised. The project is expected to start in 2026 and run for five to six years.
Proposed partner countries
Leadership by countries that have a scientific, socio-economic and political interest in pioneering implementation of the BBNJ Agreement for specific sites is needed. At the core of Living High Seas is its coalition of proposed partner countries who seek to implement conservation and sustainable use of the world’s ocean resources: Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Micronesia, Senegal and associated pioneers such as Chile. Living High Seas is looking to support this cohort of forerunners in the co-development and submission of high seas ABMT proposals for sites of high biodiversity value in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Following a multi-level approach and fostering south-south partnerships, the intention is that partner countries will co-lead ABMT development processes for specific sites within their marine regions, together with additional supporting countries and actors.
Target regions
Guided by the diverse portfolio of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) established under the CBD, five ocean areas known for their high biodiversity and climate value have been selected in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as broad starting points in which to seek specific potential candidate sites for ABMT proposals, including MPAs (see map).
The focus on large, scientifically complex EBSAs in the equatorial belt as a starting point is a deliberate choice: sites here are already being impacted by climate change and human activities, may merit varying protection levels, and offer leeway for application of the diverse taxonomy of ABMTs and zoning concepts involving different constellations of countries, competent authorities and support networks.
The five scoping regions for ABMT/MPA proposals
These five initial ocean target regions are diverse in their characteristics and offer potential to yield a range of feature-specific sites for ABMTs, including MPAs – thus providing opportunity to develop various blueprints and best practices to foster replication around the world.
The Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges EBSA
These ridges extend over 2,900 km, encompassing 41% of the seamounts in the southeastern Pacific. They exhibit high levels of marine biological endemism and are important for migratory species. A collection of stable static features, these two sequential chains of submarine mountains lie south of the Galapagos (Ecuador) and west of Chile.
The Atlantic Equatorial Fracture Zone EBSA
in the central Atlantic combines a wide spectrum of historical, geological, oceanographic and biodiversity features. Deep benthic habitats including vents and seeps, the interface of circulation patterns and seasonal surface plankton blooms combine to make this ecosystem particularly significant. A dynamic EBSA, it extends beyond the national jurisdiction of Brazil across the Atlantic and connects with the Guinea Basin offshore western Africa.
The Central Indian Ocean Basin EBSA
is a persistent ephemeral feature of high importance for migratory species in the eastern Indian Ocean. It serves as a key seasonal feeding site for migratory seabirds, fuelled by phytoplankton blooms during the austral winter, and is situated west of Indonesia. Migratory pathways, corridors and flyways connect species with countries in the Western Indian Ocean and make this site particularly relevant to Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) resolutions.
The South of Java Island EBSA
is also an ephemeral feature of high importance for migratory species in the eastern Indian Ocean, with high seasonal productivity driven by currents and upwelling from the south Java coast. It is the only known spawning area of Southern bluefin tuna, is significant for other migratory species and lies between Indonesia and Australia. It is equally important to CMS resolutions.
The Remetau Group EBSA
in the southwestern Pacific includes a number of important static features, such as ecologically rich coral reefs and seamounts boasting an abundance of rare and endemic species, such as commercially threatened tuna and endangered seabirds. It links national jurisdiction of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, extending into ABNJ.
Project approach
Living High Seas directs its support primarily at partner country and intra-regional levels, complemented by inter-regional and global activities. Partner countries will be supported in engaging a diversity of competent authorities and stakeholders at national, regional and global levels to co-develop a range of MPA proposals, as well as ABMTs, and to secure the required consensus on proposed zoning and management actions among stakeholders. As well as direct support for MPA and ABMT co-development at partner country and intra-regional levels, Living High Seas will also provide global knowledge exchange and policy uptake activities.
The Living High Seas approach comprises three interlinked workstreams, each led by one of the three consortium partners working hand-in-hand with the partner countries and local and regional action partners:
Under Output 1 (led by GOBI), the best available scientific data, information and knowledge will be jointly compiled and processed to identify specific sites suitable for taking forward as MPA or ABMT proposals, along with associated management recommendations. This will be complemented by co-development of globally applicable quality standards for MPA and ABMT identification and proposal development.
Draft proposals generated by Output 1 will be validated under Output 2 (led by GIZ) through interaction and consultation with public and political audiences at national and regional levels to generate well supported, jointly developed MPA or ABMT proposals. Partner countries and relevant actors will create necessary regulatory frameworks for ratification (if outstanding) and implementation of the Agreement, and develop and implement suitable approaches for MPA management and governance.
Output 3 (led by IUCN) will organise knowledge transfer and exchange, enable peer-to-peer learning and ensure leaders’ dialogues to stimulate collective action within and across regions and globally at multilevel fora of the high seas-biodiversity-climate interface. This will allow scaling and replication of lessons learned, experiences gained, approaches tested and new knowledge generated from Outputs 1 and 2.
In the long term, Living High Seas will contribute to the conservation of high seas marine habitats that are particularly worthy of protection due to their high importance for biodiversity and provision of marine ecosystem and climate services. Momentum generated from high seas conservation action in multiple candidate sites will inspire uptake in other jurisdictions, ensuring that the vision of the BBNJ Agreement becomes a global reality.