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AFTER RATIFICATION: HOW WILL INDONESIA NAVIGATE THE BBNJ AGREEMENT?

Abstract

Indonesia’s ratification of the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) signals its entry into a new phase of ocean governance. Translating this commitment into practice requires understanding the Agreement’s scope, assessing its institutional design, and evaluating its implications for Indonesia’s marine legal framework. This paper applies a normative legal analysis, drawing on international treaties, domestic laws, and policy instruments, to examine the BBNJ’s four substantive pillars — marine genetic resources, area-based management tools, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building and technology transfer — and their relevance to global and national biodiversity governance. It then considers the institutional and normative features of the Agreement, identifying key factors for implementation. Finally, it explores Indonesia’s pathway to operationalizing the BBNJ domestically through legal harmonization, institutional coordination, regional cooperation, and capacity development. The analysis argues that effective implementation will depend on coherent governance, sustained diplomatic engagement, and the integration of the BBNJ within Indonesia’s broader ocean policy framework.

References

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Books and Book Chapters

Coordinating Ministry of Maritime affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. “Indonesian Ocean Policy,” 2017.

De Lucia, Vito, Alex Oude Elferink, and Lan Ngoc Nguyen, eds. International Law and Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Reflections on Justice, Space, Knowledge and Power. Brill | Nijhoff, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004506367.

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Legal Documents

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, opened for signature September 20, 2023, UNTS 232 (not yet in force).

Cicin-Sain, Biliana, Marjo Vierros, Miriam Balgos, Alexis Maxwell, Meredith Kurz, and Awni Benham. “Policy Brief on Capacity Development as a Key Aspect of a New International Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).” GEF, FAO, GOF, 2018.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), opened for signature December 10, 1982, 1833 UNTS 3 (entered into force November 16, 1994).

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), opened for signature 5 June 1992, 1760, UNTS 79 (entered into force 29 December 1993).

Law No. 17 of 1985 on the Ratification of the LOSC 1982.

Law No. 5 of 1990 on the Conservation of Living Resources and its Ecosystem.

Law No. 5 of 1994 on the Ratification of the CBD.

Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management.

Law No. 5 of 1983 on Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Law No. 32 of 2014 on Marine Affairs.

Presidential Regulation No. 16 of 2017 on the Indonesian Ocean Policy.

Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 2023 on Biodiversity Preservation.

Web Sources

Evers, Jeannie. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” National Geographic Society, April 10, 2024. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/.

International Maritime Organization. “Protecting Indonesia’s Sensitive Sea Area,” December 8, 2015. https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/Pages/WhatsNew-514.aspx.

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