The High Seas: protecting beyond national jurisdictions

If we are to safeguard 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030, it is essential to include the High Seas in protected area proposals.

In partnership with Namibia Nature Foundation, Blue Marine has been working to help protect an ecologically significant seamount range off the west coast of Africa by means of the BBNJ. Preparing a plan for the Ridge, a 3,000km submarine mountain chain in the Southern Atlantic, will be a huge collaborative effort.

So far we have led initial stakeholder engagement events at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Cape Town, and CBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia. We were also observers at the AGM of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation, one of the management bodies that covers the area.  We have commissioned an assessment of the Ridge, which pulled together marine knowledge of the area, including usage.

In 2025 engagement with relevant representatives from South Africa, Namibia, and Angola will include in-country workshops to formulate a roadmap of options and opportunities, as we work to make the Walvis Ridge safe for its abundant marine life. 

The High Seas starts beyond a country’s exclusive economic zone and encompasses almost half the planet. But only one per cent of it is properly protected, with a patchwork of 21 separate organisations currently regulating different species, spaces and activities here.  

In 2018, Blue Marine and other members of the High Seas Alliance embarked on a campaign for a global, legally binding treaty to protect high seas biodiversity. After years under discussion, the High Seas Treaty, or BBNJ, was finally adopted in 2023. To date 105 countries have committed to ratification, and 19 ratified. Once 60 have ratified, the process to designate areas for protection can begin, with coastal states such as Namibia playing a critical role.