Nigerian government and fifteen West African countries have concluded arrangements aimed at seeking to design effective marine protected areas in the global ocean and to hit the ground running the moment the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement comes into force as we are behind already.

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Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, Wednesday, revealed this in remarks at the High-Level event on High Ambition for High Seas held in the margin of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA 79 in New York, United States of America.

Salako declared: “We cannot afford to wait. We are proud to announce that Nigeria is committed to continue working with the 15 other ECOWAS countries and other ambitious countries, most of whom present here to seek the designation of effective marine protected areas in the global ocean.”

He explained that Nigeria will and must act immediately and use mechanisms approved in the BBNJ Agreement to establish highly and fully protected MPAs covering at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 and let us work to have 60 ratifications as soon as possible but not later than June 2025.

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The Environment Minister expressed delight that Liberia and Gambia are joining Nigeria, adding that their engagement will resonate with us as yet another clear signal that the ECOWAS region is united in actively pursuing the effective protection of the global ocean.

“In sub-region, we are acutely aware of how fast our oceans are being drained of their ability to support us. We know healthy oceans are essential for our region and we recognize with deep concern that our oceans are affected by processes far beyond our national boundaries.”

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He noted that BBNJ Treaty is the only international agreement available for establishing marine protected areas outside national boundaries. The West Africa is on a clear path towards ensuring we are proactive and equipped to designate the first generation of highly and fully protected marine protected areas in the high seas.

“With generous technical support from organizations like the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative and the Natural Resources Defense Council, more than half of all ECOWAS member States will have signed the BBNJ Agreement by the end of this UN General Assembly session and are now on the path to ratification.”

“The road towards ratification remains arduous but we are definitely making progress and we are now projecting ourselves in the future to ensure we play an active role in the implementation of the treaty by seeking the designation of effective marine protected areas covering the Planet.”

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