The Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), often referred to as the High Seas Treaty, represents the most significant development in international ocean governance since UNCLOS. It establishes a comprehensive legal framework to protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction through four interconnected pillars:
On 19 September 2025, the High Seas Treaty reached and surpassed the milestone of 60 state ratifications needed to trigger its entry into force. Subsequently, on 17 January 2026, the Agreement entered into force, bringing into effect legally-binding rules for the sustainable use and management of marine resources in the high seas.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), on behalf of the European Commission and in particular the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), published a call for tenders for the establishment of a Single Framework Contract for the provision of technical, legal, scientific and logistical assistance.
The contract was awarded to a consortium of specialist partners, led by Landell Mills. Blue Pangolin Consulting provides technical oversight, with Francis Staub serving as Technical Director to ensure quality assurance and strategic coherence across assignments.
The contract ensures that the EU is equipped to lead during the Preparatory Commission phase, contribute effectively to the first Conference of the Parties, and prepare the necessary legislative and policy measures for implementation within the EU and in partnership with third countries.
Through political dialogue support, targeted studies and dedicated legal and policy advisory services, the Single Framework Contract aims to strengthen the EU’s leadership in global ocean governance and supports the effective, science based and equitable implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.
The Single Framework Contract is currently implementing 5 Specific Contracts. Each Specific Contract addresses a distinct technical or policy priority under the Agreement, collectively strengthening the EU’s legal preparedness, scientific foundations and strategic engagement across all four pillars of the High Seas Treaty:
The study aims to support the European Commission, especially DG MARE and DG ENV, in preparing a future EU Directive to implement the BBNJ Agreement. The Directive will regulate environmental impact assessments for activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, help protect marine biodiversity, and address certain activities related to marine genetic resources and their digital sequence information.
The study focuses specifically on the EIA and MGR chapters of the BBNJ Agreement, examining the parts that need to be transposed into EU law as identified by the Commission.
Timeline: The total duration of the contract is 12 months, and began on 26 February 2025.
Alongside internal deliverables, a final report will be produced which presents the following to support the development of the future EU legal instrument implementing the BBNJ Agreement, focusing on MGR and EIA:
Overall, the study provides a structured and evidence-based foundation for coherent EU implementation of these two pillars of the BBNJ Agreement.
The aim of the contract is to set up and run the Secretariat for the BBNJ High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and to carry out its outreach and communication tasks, as well as meetings’ organisation and policy support for the development of the HAC.
The contractor will be requested to work in close collaboration with the possible future co-chairs of the HAC, as well as the HAC members.
To fulfil this aim, the specific objectives are to:
Timeline: The total duration of the contract is 36 months, and began on 25 March 2025.
The Coalition is co-chaired by the European Union, Palau, and Seychelles, and serves to:
The HAC brings together 47 country members from all regions of the world.
On 28 May 2025, the BBNJ High Ambition Coalition Declaration was launched which reaffirms political commitment to the rapid ratification and ambitious implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. It calls for urgent action to protect the high seas through science-based marine protected areas, fair benefit sharing from marine genetic resources, strong environmental impact assessment processes, and enhanced capacity building and financial support for developing States, urging all countries to ratify the Agreement swiftly.
Specific Contract 3 supports the EU in designing how the BBNJ standardised batch identifier will function in practice. It analyses the legal and technical requirements of the identifier, reviews existing tracking systems, and tests how it could operate across scientific research and data systems. The project also engages negotiators and stakeholders to develop practical recommendations and a roadmap for piloting the identifier ahead of implementation under the BBNJ Agreement.
To fulfil this aim, the following objectives have been defined:
Timeline: The total duration of the contract is 12 months, and began on 03 June 2025.
Alongside internal deliverables, Specific Contract 3 will produce a comprehensive technical and policy package to support the operationalisation of the BBNJ standardised batch identifier for marine genetic resources.
The Specific Contract will deliver:
This package will support the design, testing and operationalisation of the BBNJ standardised batch identifier, providing practical recommendations and a roadmap to support its implementation and EU engagement in negotiations.
The main aim of the contract is to set up an informal expert’ group to assist the BBNJ negotiations in relation to the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement in all its components: Marine Genetic Resources (MGR) and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; area-based management tools (ABMTs); environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and capacity building and transfer of marine technology (CBTMT).
To fulfil this aim, the following objectives have been defined:
Timeline: The total duration of the contract is 36 months, and began on 06 January 2026.
Specific Contract 4 establishes a structured expert dialogue process to inform the ratification and early implementation of the BBNJ Agreement across its four pillars, including cross-cutting themes. Specifically, the contract will seek to deliver:
Technical pillar leads will support the delivery of workshops and production of products.
Overall, the contract delivers a coordinated expert platform and a suite of policy-oriented outputs to strengthen technical input, build consensus and support informed decision-making in the early implementation phase of the BBNJ Agreement
Title: Building a Clearing-House Mechanism for Knowledge and Technology Exchange workshop
Date: 13 March 2026 (by invitation only)
Location: BBNJ Symposium, Rio, Brazil
This workshop will explore how to operationalise the CBTMT framework. The discussion will examine what marine technology encompasses under Article 1(10) and how this shapes CBTMT obligations, how to move from identifying capacity needs to delivering appropriate technical and financial support, how to facilitate access to essential marine technologies, and how to coordinate CBTMT across the substantive pillars of the BBNJ Agreement, avoiding duplication and fragmentation. The workshop assesses how the Clearing House Mechanism under Article 51 can support these implementation challenges.
A group of 30 CBTMT and Cross-Cutting experts is expected to attend the in-person workshop in Rio, and the workshop will be coordinated by Julia Shutz, Blue Pangolin Consulting and Landell Mills.
The workshop report and policy brief are intended to inform the Preparatory Committee and COP1, ensuring that insights from the workshop effectively contribute to policy development.
The aim of the study is to compare and analyse the draft proposals for ABMTs, including MPAs, and other effective conservation measures (OECMs) in ABNJ, in view of facilitating the work of the EU in preparing positions on draft proposals that could potentially, in the future, be supported by the EU and its Member States.
To fulfil this aim, the following objectives have been defined:
Timeline: The total duration of the contract is 11 months, and began on 01 March 2026.
Specific Contract 5 will deliver a consolidated scientific, legal and geopolitical assessment to support strategic EU engagement on high seas ABMT proposals under the BBNJ Agreement. Specifically, the contract will seek to provide:
Overall, the contract will provide a strategic evidence base to guide EU positioning and decision-making on the development and adoption of high seas protected areas under the BBNJ Agreement.
For more information on this Single Framework Contract, use the “Contact Us” page, or email us directly below:
“The entry into force of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement marks a historic step for our planet. This milestone shows the power of multilateralism, as we head to New York for the UN General Assembly. We thank our UN partners for their collaboration. The EU and its Member States remain committed to the swift and ambitious implementation of the agreement. And we call on more countries to join our movement, for the universal protection of our ocean.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
20 Mortlake High Street, London SW14 8JN,
United Kingdom
