Bill 64.

Summary.

The bill proposes approving in its entirety the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, adopted in New York. The Agreement covers the high seas and the Area and seeks to conserve their biological diversity through implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international cooperation. It defines marine genetic resources, marine protected areas, environmental impact assessment, and marine technology, among other terms. It preserves States’ rights and duties under the Convention and claims of sovereignty or jurisdiction. It excludes warships, military aircraft, and naval auxiliaries, while setting different rules for other State vessels and aircraft used for non-commercial government service.

The Parties would be guided by principles including polluter pays, the common heritage of humankind, equity, precaution, and an ecosystem approach. They would also promote marine scientific research and technology transfer. Regarding marine genetic resources and digital sequence information, the Agreement allows activities by Parties and persons under their jurisdiction, subject to its provisions and carried out exclusively for peaceful purposes. It bars claims of sovereignty over those resources. Its rules cover activities occurring after the Agreement enters into force for each Party and, subject to the specified written exception, the use of resources collected or information generated earlier. Fishing regulated by relevant international law and certain military activities fall under the exclusions set out in the Agreement.

Parties would have to ensure that in situ collection is notified to the Clearing-House Mechanism (Mecanismo de Intercambio de Información) six months in advance or as soon as possible. The notice would describe the project, area, methods, vessels, institutions, and data management. The mechanism would generate a standardized «BBNJ» batch identifier. After collection, the location of deposited samples and sequences, collection coordinates, and available results would be reported within a maximum of one year. Repositories and databases would submit access reports every two years; use and commercialization would trigger further notifications. Access to associated traditional knowledge would require the free, prior, and informed consent, or the approval and involvement, of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, on mutually agreed terms.

The Agreement provides for fair and equitable sharing of non-monetary benefits, including samples, data, cooperation, and marine technology, and of monetary benefits through its financial mechanism. Parties would ensure public deposit of utilized resources and sequences within a maximum of three years after utilization begins, or as soon as they become available. Developed Parties would make annual contributions to the special fund equal to 50 % of their assessed contribution to the budget approved by the Conference of the Parties (Conferencia de las Partes) until it decides on other modalities. An access and benefit-sharing committee would make recommendations and receive information from Parties. Notifications and «BBNJ» identifiers would support oversight of activities and benefits.

To establish area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, Parties would submit proposals identifying the geographic area, conservation objectives, existing activities, and a draft management plan. The secretariat would publish them, and the Scientific and Technical Body (Órgano Científico y Técnico) would conduct a preliminary review. Consultations would follow with States, including adjacent coastal States, competent bodies, the scientific community, civil society, the private sector, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. The proponent would examine submissions and present a revised proposal for scientific assessment and a subsequent decision by the Conference of the Parties. Such tools would not cover areas under national jurisdiction and would take coastal States’ rights into account.

The Conference of the Parties would adopt decisions and recommendations by consensus or, once efforts to reach consensus were exhausted, by the prescribed majorities. Its decisions would enter into force 120 days after the meeting and bind the Parties, except a Party filing a written objection within that period on one of the specified grounds. An objecting Party would have to explain its grounds and, to the extent possible, apply alternative measures with equivalent effect. If it withdrew the objection, the decision would bind it 90 days after notification of the withdrawal.

The content may concern marine research institutions, sample and data repositories, biotechnology companies, the fishing and maritime sectors, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples. Related bodies include the Conference of the Parties, the Clearing-House Mechanism, and the Scientific and Technical Body; the Agreement operates within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.