FIJI is on track to ratify the Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement, considered the most important ocean agreement to be adopted in the last 25 years. The agreement has 112 signatories, however, only 21 countries have ratified it, and this includes three Pacific nations — Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.
This week stakeholders submitted whether Fiji must ratify the BBNJ agreement to members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.Ye sterday (27.03), the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change team agreed that Fiji must take this step in order to preserve and protect its biodiversity and marine resources.
Permanent secretary Dr Sivendra Michael said the ministry looked after several multilateral environmental agreements which also related to the protection of marine biodiversity. These include but are not limited to: the Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance and Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
