A new treaty is anticipated to provide protection for ocean biodiversity that lives in the estimated 95 percent of all occupied habitat on Earth. It’s called the Agreement on Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction, or the BBNJ Agreement - but just because it deals with the ocean more than 200 miles from the shore, it has close ties to New Jersey by protecting the habitat of migratory species like our American Eels that travel from NJ rivers to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, the birds that reverse that journey, and the great whales.

Given the ocean's role in absorbing 30% of carbon emissions, the treaty is vital for climate resilience. New Jersey residents, academic institutions, and government agencies can support its success through US ratification and active participation in knowledge exchange under the BBNJ Agreement.

Join The Watershed Institute in hearing from guest experts and learn more about the BBNJ Agreement. We will hear from Cymie Payne who is an Associate Professor from Rutgers University, Chair of the Ocean Law Specialist Group International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law, fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, visiting scholar from the Environmental Law Institute, and member of the Atrocity Crimes Working Group.