Preparatory Commission for Marine Biodiversity Treaty Takes Up Financial Matters

Preparatory Commission for Marine Biodiversity Treaty Takes Up Financial Matters

The commission tasked with preparing for the entry into force of a high-seas biodiversity treaty continued its second session today, taking up matters relating to both institutional and participatory financing as a number of speakers stressed the importance of ensuring equity and inclusion for developing States.

The gathering, formally known as the "Preparatory Commission for the Entry into Force of 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 and the Convening of the First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement", is taking place at UN Headquarters from 18 to 29 August.

The second of three planned sessions, it will build on the first session's work that took place from 14 to 25 April by addressing a series of issues in the format of informal working groups. (Previous coverage is available here.)

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 addresses marine genetic resources, measures such as area-based management tools, environmental-impact assessments and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. It was adopted on 19 June 2023 and is open for signature until 20 September 2025.

The Agreement will enter into force 120 days after the date of deposit of the sixtieth instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession thereto. Pursuant to the treaty, the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties shall be convened by the United Nations Secretary-General no later than one year after the Agreement's entry into force.

Delegates Discuss Agreement's Financing Mechanism, Including Voluntary Trust Fund

Today's meeting opened with a discussion on the operationalization of the Agreement's provisions relating to financing, including the voluntary trust fund to be established to facilitate wide participation in the meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement.

Meaningful participation for small island developing States "is not optional - it is foundational for ensuring our priorities are fully integrated into the decision-making process", stressed Guyana's delegate, speaking for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). She therefore recommended that the Commission provide clear guidance to the Conference of the Parties on establishing the voluntary trust fund. It is important to start timely resource mobilization to allow for participation in the Conference's first meeting, she added.

Consideration for developing countries "should continue to inspire and guide the discussions", emphasized Iran's delegate, with such support "deemed not as an exhortatory element", but "rather as an obligation under the Agreement". Further, appropriate arrangements must ensure that the support is "needs-driven", he stressed. Rejecting limitations on developing State parties whose assessed contributions are in a specified amount of arrears, he stressed that if such a financial situation arises "due to factors beyond its control, or financial, economic or various forms of external impediment", the country in question "actually should be supported to ensure that it is represented" in the Conference's work.

Echoing that was Iraq's representative, speaking for the Group of 77 developing countries and China, who - noting a suggestion to limit access to funding for representatives of State parties whose contributions are in arrears beyond a certain threshold - said that the Group is "not inclined to add certain limitations for developing countries". He further emphasized the need to address the unpredictability inherent in funding a voluntary financing mechanism, urging that adequate arrangements be made to ensure the continued involvement of developing States in the Conference's work.

In a similar vein, the representative of Papua New Guinea, speaking for the Pacific small island developing States, emphasized that the voluntary funding mechanism must be made available to assist least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States in attending the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties. He also voiced support for a dedicated funding stream and a separate voluntary funding mechanism to enable the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Additionally, the voluntary trust fund should cover all expenses of delegates from developing countries in line with past practices, said Brazil's representative, speaking for the Core Latin American Group. He also opposed limiting the number of delegates per country whose participation would be enabled by the trust fund; instead, "we should explore ways to incentivize adequate and sustainable resourcing of the fund", he said.

The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, echoed calls for the voluntary trust fund to be established as soon as possible to support developing countries' participation from the start. However, he called for a limit of one representative from each eligible developing State party, subject to the availability of resources. Additionally, "limitations should be established on access to funding for representatives of any party in arrears of its assessed contribution in an amount that equals or exceeds the contribution due for the preceding two full years", he emphasized, while adding that flexibility could be exercised in exceptional circumstances.

Japan's delegate, echoing concerns over ensuring the trust fund's sustainability and stability, said that certain limitations will be necessary. These could include, for example, limiting the number of delegates benefiting from the fund to one person per State party, restricting the class of air travel available to those utilizing the fund's resources and prioritizing participation in meetings of the Conference of the Parties over those of its subsidiary bodies.

Pushing back on that, Nigeria's delegate - speaking for the African Group - emphasized the importance of "not placing any limitations on access to funding for representatives of Member States - especially developing countries who are in arrears of the assessed-contributions payment beyond the specified threshold". He further highlighted the need to prioritize the institutional setup and structure of the Agreement's financial mechanism through timely discussions on eligibility, application, disbursement and reporting.

In a general sense, the Russian Federation's delegate called for the financial mechanism to be "effective, stable, reliable and not an additional burden for developing States". However, if custodianship over such mechanism is given to a non-United Nations entity, this could lead to interference. Recalling various exclusive-economic-zone access agreements signed in the 1990s between certain Western European countries and coastal West African States, she noted that they caused irreversible damage and overfishing in the latter. The international community must learn a lesson from this experience and protect the interests of developing countries, she stressed.

For her part, Thailand's representative called for clear and simple procedures for the financial mechanism's eligibility and disbursement criteria - with particular attention given to the needs of least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States. She further advocated for streamlined applications given the limited administrative capacity of those countries, adding that "developing States should have the option to access resources directly, without having to go through international intermediaries".

Speakers Also Address Financial Rules for Conference of the Parties, Secretariat, Subsidiary Bodies

The afternoon's discussions, meanwhile, focused on the financial rules to govern the funding of the Conference of the Parties, its secretariat and any subsidiary bodies. Aiding that discussion was a draft of such rules prepared by the Preparatory Commission's Co-Chairs (document A/AC.296/2025/7).

The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, noted that "the necessary flexibility in the use of financial resources could be reached by other budgetary instruments, such as the transfer of resources between programmes and years - and, moreover, complementary budget proposals should come with additional voluntary contributions". Assessed contributions "should be paid promptly, in full, in a timely manner", he added - in instalments if necessary - with extension of the payment deadline limited to two years.

For his part, Nigeria's delegate, speaking for the African Group, reaffirmed the importance of "adequate, predictable, sustainable and responsive funding that responds to the unique needs of developing countries". He also insisted that any financing proposal align with the spirit and intent of language in the Agreement to "prioritize least developed countries, small island developing States and the African States".

Iran's representative, similarly, emphasized the need to clarify how any proposed financing model may impact developing countries. "Common-but-differentiated responsibilities, equity, capacity to pay - as well as difficulties and external impediments - faced by developing countries are among elements that should be fully taken into account when addressing financial rules," he said.

The representative of Papua New Guinea, speaking for the Pacific small island developing States, meanwhile, observed that the final form of the financial rules will depend on the agreed structure for the Agreement's secretariat. On that, Chile's delegate - speaking for the Core Latin American Group - expressed a preference for a body with sufficient independence to carry out its functions effectively. He also noted that a biennial budget would enable consideration of supplementary budget proposals submitted by the secretariat's head under exceptional circumstances.

Saudi Arabia's representative, for his part, voiced support for a three-year financial period, while objecting to a provision in the draft rules calling for assessed contributions to be paid annually on 1 January of each calendar year. Financial and budgetary cycles differ between countries, he pointed out, proposing the deletion of language concerning specific payment deadlines.

The Preparatory Commission will reconvene tomorrow, 20 August, to discuss matters relating to the Agreement's Clearing-House Mechanism - a centralized platform to enable parties to share information regarding treaty activities - and to its secretariat.