Mombasa, Kenya — A significant challenge for the conservation sector is the 30×30 goal to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans by 2030. It heavily depends on the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ agreement), which is the first legally binding agreement to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the open seas. Before the treaty, nearly half the planet’s ocean surface, the high seas, had almost no formal protection, with less than 1% safeguarded. The agreement is now the essential pathway to deliver the roughly 11 million km² of additional ocean protection needed each year to meet the target.
Yet the ocean is under intensifying pressure.
Overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change have damaged marine ecosystems. The High Seas Treaty, which came into force in January 2026, provides the legal framework for ensuring the protection of the high seas. There has been an increase in the number of MPAs, but there is no actual protection, even in the high seas. Some nations, including the Trump administration, have opposed the treaty in favour of deep-sea mining. In addition, significant financial gaps also remain. Experts estimate that achieving 30×30 will require $15.8 billion annually, against current ocean conservation funding of roughly $1.2 billion.
At the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, momentum was visible. Governments and partners pledged $6.4 billion, and nine African nations announced new marine protected areas. Former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry urged faster ratification and implementation, warning that without urgent, coordinated action, particularly in the high seas, the 2030 deadline risks becoming an empty promise.
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With fewer than 1,600 days remaining, the question is no longer whether the world has the ambition or the tools. It is whether it has the political will to move from pledges to enforceable protection before it is too late.
Communities must lead if the world is to deliver on 30×30
“The ocean has no voice, so it can’t advocate for itself. That’s why we’re here,” said actress and ocean advocate Kate Walsh. Her remarks came as governments and conservation organisations assess progress toward the 30×30 target.
Walsh said that a few years ago, world leaders came together around an extraordinary commitment to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, a target known globally as “30×30”. But with the deadline approaching, progress has stalled and fallen behind. She said that only about 10% of the ocean is currently protected, while roughly 3% enjoys strong levels of protection. She warned that the gap between commitments and action remains significant.
“The ocean doesn’t need more promises. It needs action,” said Walsh.
She said that lasting conservation efforts must be built on partnerships with Indigenous peoples, coastal communities, artisanal fishers, and local leaders. We’ve seen time and again that conservation is at its strongest and most successful when local communities help lead, said Walsh.
She cited examples from the United States, the Philippines, Chile, and Kenya, where governments and communities have worked together to protect marine ecosystems while supporting local livelihoods. These examples, she said, demonstrated that governments and coastal communities can successfully protect critical coral habitats while supporting local livelihoods. She said these efforts showed that healthy oceans and thriving coastal communities are achievable, but warned that meeting the 30×30 target would require action on a much larger scale.
Walsh also highlighted the importance of the recently adopted High Seas Treaty. She described it as a major opportunity to expand protection to ocean areas beyond national jurisdictions. However, she said that governments must move quickly from commitments to implementation.
“Now we must follow through,” she said. “Commitments alone will not protect the ocean. Action will, and sustained, continued action.”
Walsh described ocean protection as an investment that extends far beyond environmental conservation. She said the ocean has long fed, protected, connected and inspired humanity, and stressed that people now have a responsibility to safeguard it. “The ocean has always been with us, there for us. It has fed us, protected us, connected us, and inspired us, and now it is our turn to be there for the ocean. Not tomorrow, not someday, now,” she said.
“Protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 is not an environmental goal,” Walsh said. “It is an investment in people, it is an investment in communities, it is an investment in climate resilience, and it is an investment in the future we all share.”
BBNJ ratification momentum and a new phase of ocean governance
Global ocean diplomacy is entering a decisive phase, with accelerating momentum around the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement colliding with deep divisions over seabed mining. At the centre of the debate is a growing call for precaution, legality, and equity in how the ocean’s most vulnerable spaces are governed.
Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, the Special Envoy of the French President for the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) and France’s Ambassador for the Poles and Maritime Issues, called for a shift away from vague rhetoric on ocean governance toward more concrete and legally grounded action. Speaking as the personal representative of President Emmanuel Macron, d’Arvor situated France’s role using its geography, the country holds the world’s second-largest exclusive economic zone. He described France as a leading advocate for what he called “blue diplomacy,” a diplomacy of equilibrium.
“Before we can claim rights over the ocean, which is the common heritage of mankind, our nations must first recognise their duties,” he said.
He warned that any attempt to exploit the seabed outside the International Seabed Authority (ISA) framework would violate international law. Since 1882, he said, international law through the Montego Bay Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a clear exclusive economic zone, but it also establishes a unique framework for the exploration of the deep seabed, the International Seabed Authority based in Kingston. Any attempt to mine that zone outside the Authority, he said, particularly in the absence of an agreed mining code, would directly violate international law.
d’Arvor added that ocean multilateralism is gaining momentum.
He cited the recent global agreements and frameworks, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the goal to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. He acknowledged the world still has considerable ground to cover on both the surface area protected and the strength of that protection, but argued the momentum behind the goal is now irreversible, and that the target will be met.
A major focus of the discussions was the rapid progress on the BBNJ Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty, which is designed to regulate biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and enable the creation of marine protected areas in the high seas. d’Arvor described its ratification as a diplomatic breakthrough achieved in record time.
“In Nice, we achieved the remarkable feat of securing ratification of the BBNJ agreement in record time, only two years after its adoption in New York,” he said. “Few believed the high seas could be governed in this way. Yes, we did it.”
He said that the agreement has already reached more than 90 ratifications, bringing it closer to full implementation and paving the way for a future ocean-focused COP under the United Nations system. He also issued a clear appeal to countries that have not yet joined the treaty:
“I would urge those countries that have not yet done so to ratify the BBNJ before the end of the year or before the 10th of December, so they can be around the table with us,” said d’Arvor. Few people, he said, believed the high seas could ever be protected and governed this way. “And yes, we did it,” he said. “And yes, you have done it.”
As negotiations intensify ahead of the next phase of ocean governance, the central question remains unresolved: who gets to define the rules of the deep ocean, and at what cost?
Kenya pushes 30×30 agenda as parliament links law, science and ocean finance
The push to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030, known as the 30×30 target, has moved beyond global pledges into the realm of national legislation, budgeting, and enforcement. Kenya positions itself as one of the leading voices linking ocean ambition to parliamentary action. Marwa Kitayama-Maisori, Member of Parliament for Kuria East Constituency and Vice Chair of the Committee on Fisheries in the Kenyan National Assembly, said that the central role of parliaments is in turning international commitments into enforceable action.
Maisori grounded the 30×30 conversation in the practical machinery of governance, framing parliaments as the engine room of ocean conservation.
He said that what brings international commitments like 30×30 to life is the everyday work that parliaments do to represent their people: legislating, ratifying treaties, and providing oversight on commitments made both internationally and at home. In Kenya’s case, he said, the National Assembly has taken on a further role using the budget process itself as a tool to back up these commitments.
Maisori said Kenya has already made progress in anchoring 30×30 commitments in governance systems, including treaty ratification and domestic legal frameworks aligned with the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) process. She said that implementation is increasingly supported through budget allocations, science, and technology partnerships.
“Kenya’s commitment to the pathways to achieve 30 by 30 – we have already backed on governance by passing the laws that we’ve ratified,” he said.
Kenya is quite a leader in science and technology, especially in the marine space, he said. She pointed to research institutions such as the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KFRI) as key drivers of knowledge generation.
“There’s a Norwegian ship that has just docked at the waters and it has high-level technology that we intend as a country to also leverage,” he said. “We’ll be able to look into how we put in even more money so that as a country and as a region… we can be part of the solutions that go into science and coupled with traditional knowledge.”
The MP stressed the importance of combining scientific innovation with indigenous and local knowledge systems to strengthen marine conservation outcomes. Kitayama-Maisori didn’t present science as a replacement for indigenous and local knowledge, but as a complement to it. “Many of our women and local communities already know what to do,” he said. “What they need is good science data, financing to afford equipment, and reliable partnerships they can depend on.”
“Capacity building only works if knowledge is passed on; otherwise, it cannot sustain the oceans.”
He cautioned that capacity-building must be continuous, warning that knowledge loses value if it is not transferred across generations and communities to remain effective.
“Capacity building has always happened, and this is important because those who know, if they do not pass it on, then it is useless and it cannot help in the sustainability of the oceans,” he said. “Equitable sharing of benefits must be predictable. It cannot just be there on paper encouraging high-level nations, but then local communities do not see the value of equitable benefits that come with the 30 by 30 commitments.”
He also drew attention to enforcement gaps in the high seas, warning that weak monitoring systems and uneven treaty ratification undermine global ocean governance. Maisori described the high seas as an environment uniquely exposed to crime and exploitation, given its scale and the difficulty of oversight. “We have a big high-seas environment that is a serious space for crime and other activities,” he said. “Bad manners in the high seas affect the social and economic livelihoods of especially poor people and poor nations.”
She also highlighted the importance of predictability in both financing and governance systems, arguing that uncertainty undermines community trust and participation. Maisori stressed that the ocean agenda must now move beyond declarations to implementation.”It is now time to actually act and not just have a lot of words which do not go beyond conferences…”
Kenya has already invested in marine protection, research, and emerging mechanisms such as carbon credit systems linked to ocean ecosystems. The National Assembly, she said, has increasingly allocated resources toward long-term conservation. “We are consciously investing in what we are going to hand over to our grandchildren,” he said. “Sustainable financing must be predictable. If that is ascertained, then everybody gets buy-in; everybody feels included.”
“Being late in protecting our oceans would lead to a disaster.”
No marine protection without the Global South
Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, said that ocean protection is central to global survival and must be matched with faster implementation of agreed commitments.
“Our oceans are relevant, hugely relevant for mankind,” he said. He said that the 30×30 target is “one instrument, one track to keep our oceans alive.”
Flasbarth said that Germany’s progress on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement. “We were really proud to be part of the process,” he said. “Germany went through the whole process on our national side. It has gone through parliament. It’s German law now, and we are on our way to New York to ratify.”
He also pointed to Germany’s marine protection efforts under the 30×30 framework, saying that Germany has designated 45% of its exclusive economic zone as protected. Their focus must now shift from numerical targets to effective enforcement and ecological outcomes. He warned that while diplomatic delays may be tolerable in negotiations, delays in implementation would have severe consequences. “Being late in protecting our oceans would lead to a disaster. We need to be quick with joining forces,” said Flasbarth.
Flasbarth outlined Germany’s financial and institutional support for ocean conservation, including initiatives aimed at scaling marine protected areas globally.
He announced that Germany, through its international climate initiative, has created the Living High Seas project, committing €20 million to partner with Senegal, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Micronesia. He described it as “a kick-off” and “not a closed shop,” with the explicit goal of identifying areas to implement BBNJ protections together with those countries. He also tied this bilateral work into multilateral structures, naming the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI) and the IUCN as venues where this partnership work also needs to sit.
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He also pointed to the Blue Action Fund, which already supports protection efforts covering around 50 million hectares of marine protected areas globally, with significant funding directed toward Africa. “We want to get the private sector to allow the protection of MPAs in African border seas,” he said. He said the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development approved an additional €90 million for the Blue Action Fund, with Germany working alongside Norway, France, Ireland, and Sweden to make the fund more useful to a wider set of partners.
“We will have no chance if we don’t cooperate for our oceans,” he said. Flasbarth warned against a “my country first” approach, adding: “We will not make the oceans great again.”
Rebecca Hubbard, Executive Director of the High Seas Alliance, described the High Seas Treaty as a landmark shift that is already reshaping how the high seas are governed.
“The High Seas Treaty is a landmark agreement that really changes the face of ocean governance for the world,” she said. She pointed out that 90 state ratifications have already been achieved in just two and a half years, a speed she called “incredibly fast by international standards” for a new piece of international law.
“The challenge is now to turn this promise into real action in the water,” she said.
She outlined three key pillars needed for implementation: protection, equity, and good governance, supported by strong global partnerships.
On protection, Hubbard said that the treaty’s significance lies in giving the world a legal framework, for the first time, to create protected areas in international waters. “The High Seas Treaty now gives us the legal framework to create protected areas in international waters for the first time,” she said. ” It’s now urgent for governments to work together to propose the first set of high seas marine protected areas.”
“This is the only way we can achieve 30% protection of our ocean by 2030. We need the high seas,” she said.
Hubbard said that some of this work is already underway, pointing to Germany’s efforts (referencing the prior remarks from the German Minister), along with France, South Africa, and the West African group of states, all of whom are already looking at potential protected areas.
In terms of equity, she said, the High Seas Treaty really has built into its infrastructure, into its architecture, ocean equity and justice. It means that we need sufficient funding and we need capacity for all states to be able to not just have a voice, but to lead and engage fully in protection and sustainable use of the high seas, and to ensure that the ocean’s genetic wealth is fairly shared amongst all people. She added that this principle was strongly championed by African states, small island developing states, and even landlocked countries during negotiations.
Hubbard pointed to the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP) as a critical moment for operationalising the treaty. While procedural in nature, she said it will determine how effectively the agreement is enforced. “We need strong decision-making and good processes that are transparent, science-based, inclusive and ensure accountability,” she said. “We cannot deliver on the ambition of the High Seas Treaty without these criteria.”
She said that no single country or institution can implement the treaty alone, calling for broad cooperation across governments, scientists, civil society, Indigenous peoples, youth, and legal experts.
“We need to continue to work cooperatively,” she said. “It’s essential to keep this going if we’re going to succeed in the future.”
