Parliament has enacted the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act 2026 (Royal Assent: 12 February 2026), implementing the UN Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. While much of the Act takes effect immediately, sections 2–8, 13, 21 and 24 will commence on dates appointed by regulations.
Collection projects using a UK craft to obtain marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction must be notified in advance. The individual with principal scientific or technical responsibility must submit the Article 12(2)(a)–(j) pre‑collection dataset to the Secretary of State and wait at least seven months before sampling. The waiting period can be reduced by written notice where the Secretary of State considers there is a compelling reason to proceed sooner.
Post‑collection duties mirror this approach. Article 12(5)(a)–(d) information must be provided as soon as it is all available and, in any event, within eleven months of the last day of collection. For the Act’s purposes, ‘collect’ means deliberate collection or sampling, not incidental take during activities with another primary purpose.
Utilisation in the United Kingdom of marine genetic resources from areas beyond national jurisdiction, or of digital sequence information relating to those resources, triggers a separate reporting schedule. The project controller must notify the Secretary of State in line with the Act’s Schedule, with one‑month deadlines when utilisation results in publications, patents or product development, one month from first commercial availability of a product and annually thereafter while it remains available. Limited exceptions apply where information cannot reasonably be obtained or, for DSI, cannot reasonably be provided; deadlines may be extended by written notice.
Physical samples arising from utilisation must be deposited in a suitable repository and DSI must be recorded in a suitable database within three years of the project starting. Repositories and databases are suitable if they are publicly accessible and operated in accordance with current international practice, anywhere in the world. All deposits and records must be identifiable by the standardised Article 12(3) identifier.
Information supplied under the collection or utilisation regimes may be provided by the Secretary of State to the Agreement’s Clearing‑House Mechanism. Disclosure is prohibited where the material is protected under the National Security Act 2023 or where, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, the Agreement does not require the information to be shared.
Those controlling repositories in the United Kingdom must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure stored samples can be identified as originating from areas beyond national jurisdiction and by their Article 12(3) identifier. They must provide access for utilisation by others subject to conditions consistent with Article 14(4) and must report every two years the number of times access has been granted, identifying the samples concerned.
Publicly accessible UK databases holding DSI must maintain the same traceability and access principles. Controllers must report, for each relevant two‑year period, how often DSI has been viewed or downloaded, identifying the datasets by Article 12(3) identifier. A database is ‘UK’ if the controller is an individual habitually resident in the UK or a body incorporated under UK law.
The first reporting window opens when the Agreement enters into force internationally or, if later, when it enters into force for the UK, with subsequent two‑year cycles thereafter. Reports are due within two months of the end of each cycle, unless the Secretary of State directs alternative timings to align with any timetable set by the Access and Benefit‑Sharing Committee.
The Act excludes specified activities to prevent duplication and protect security interests. Fishing conducted under the Fisheries Act 2020 licensing framework or under the joint fisheries statement is out of scope, as are warships, military activities, anything done in Antarctica and Antarctic genetic resources. Provisions bind the Crown but do not create criminal liability for it.
To implement Part 2 of the Agreement on marine genetic resources and benefit‑sharing, the Secretary of State may make regulations ensuring consistency with other international instruments, giving effect to Conference of the Parties decisions on sharing monetary benefits, adjusting for future determinations on the Clearing‑House, limiting disclosure required domestically and avoiding double compliance with equivalent laws of other Parties. Enforcement provisions may include civil sanctions, monitoring and information requirements.
Regulations that amend or repeal primary legislation, implement decisions on monetary benefits, or create or vary civil sanctions are subject to the draft affirmative procedure; other regulations use the negative procedure. Parallel powers are conferred on the Scottish Ministers and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs within devolved competence, with rights of appeal where civil sanctions are used. The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament guidance on the requirements of Part 2 and keep it under review.
Where the COP adopts measures on area‑based management tools, compatibility with other frameworks or emergency actions, the Secretary of State may make regulations to give effect to the UK’s implementation duty, including beyond UK waters. Enforcement can provide for civil or criminal consequences, monitoring, record‑keeping and detention of UK craft by reference to established maritime enforcement statutes. Maximum criminal penalties are set at fines on summary conviction and, on indictment, up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine, or both.
For emergency measures adopted under Article 24, time‑critical provisions can be made using the made affirmative procedure so that regulations come into force immediately pending subsequent parliamentary approval. Separately, the Secretary of State may issue directions to specified UK craft to give effect to emergency measures; failure to comply without reasonable excuse is an offence triable in the United Kingdom even where conduct occurred outside it.
Marine licensing under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is adapted to future BBNJ obligations. Ministers may add activities to the list of licensable marine activities specifically in contemplation of duties on area‑based tools or high‑seas EIAs and may make consequential amendments, including to primary legislation. The general carve‑out for submarine cables does not disapply licensing where an activity has been added on a BBNJ basis.
The Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2007 are amended to create a BBNJ‑specific EIA route. An EIA is required where there are reasonable grounds for believing a BBNJ activity may cause substantial pollution of, or significant and harmful changes to, the marine environment, having regard to Schedule 1 criteria and any matter needed to give effect to Article 30(1)(b). Screening must also treat projects as potentially requiring EIA if effects may be more than minor or transitory, or where effects are unknown or poorly understood, with reasons recorded and communicated.
Scotland receives equivalent adjustments. The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 gains powers to add BBNJ‑related licensable activities and to disapply the submarine cable exemption in those cases, and the 2017 EIA Regulations are updated so that BBNJ works meet EIA thresholds and screening tests aligned to Articles 30 and 31. Scottish Ministers may accept an equivalent assessment where it satisfies Part 4 of the Agreement and must ensure approvals remain compatible with the UK’s obligations.
Standards and guidelines adopted by the COP under Article 38 can now be implemented domestically by regulations. The Secretary of State may amend marine licensing provisions to incorporate such standards for England and Wales, with affirmative approval where primary law is modified; Scottish Ministers have a parallel power for devolved waters.
Environmental outcomes reporting under the Levelling‑up and Regeneration Act 2023 is extended so that, where marine licensing statutes apply, relevant consents can encompass activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This integrates high‑seas operations into the outcomes‑based framework.
Definitions and interpretation ensure practical reach. ‘UK craft’ includes British and Government ships and other craft with a qualifying UK connection, which can be refined by regulations; certain overseas territories’ maritime zones are treated as exclusive economic zones for interpretation. ‘Digital sequence information’ will be set in secondary legislation. Research institutions and data infrastructure operators should now map projects and holdings against the seven‑month, eleven‑month and three‑year timelines and prepare for the first two‑year reporting cycle.