Living High Seas: Pioneering high seas marine protected area action

The high seas are among the most rich in biodiversity but least protected habitats on earth. Despite new global agreements (BBNJ treaty), many countries lack the skills to effectively plan and implement marine protected areas. The project supports a coalition of partner countries and associated pioneers in jointly developing conservation proposals for particularly valuable marine areas in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and submitting them to the BBNJ treaty secretariat. It strengthens the capacity of relevant stakeholders to develop and manage evidence-based proposals, promotes knowledge sharing, develops quality standards for marine protected areas and creates new governance structures. This creates a transferable basis for effective marine protection on the high seas. The project thus contributes to the global goal of protecting thirty percent of the oceans by 2030.