West Africa cannot afford to be silent as the world decides the future of the ocean
As the first Conference of the Parties to the BBNJ Agreement approaches in New York, African governments have an opportunity to turn global ocean commitments into protection for coastal communities, fisheries and marine biodiversity.
For millions of people along West Africa’s coastline, the ocean is not a distant environmental concern. It is a source of food, employment, income and cultural identity. From fishing communities in Ghana and Senegal to coastal households in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, the sea supports livelihoods that are increasingly threatened by overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change.
Yet, despite the ocean’s importance to the region’s economy and food security, its protection remains an urgent governance challenge. Fish stocks face pressure from unsustainable fishing, illegal fishing undermines legitimate livelihoods, plastic waste accumulates along coastlines, and coastal ecosystems are increasingly exposed to environmental degradation.
These challenges are not confined by national borders. Fish move across maritime boundaries, ocean currents carry pollution between countries, and environmental changes in one part of the Atlantic can affect marine ecosystems and coastal livelihoods elsewhere.
That is why the first Conference of the Parties to the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), commonly known as the High Seas Treaty, matters to West Africa.
Scheduled for 11–22 January 2027 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, COP1 will be the first meeting of the treaty’s parties to consider how the agreement should be implemented. The agreement entered into force on 17 January 2026 and establishes a framework for conserving and sustainably using marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Its provisions cover marine genetic resources, marine protected areas and other area-based management tools, environmental impact assessments, and capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology.
For West Africa, this is more than another international environmental meeting. It is an opportunity to influence decisions about the management of the high seas and ensure that the benefits of ocean conservation are not reserved for countries with greater financial resources, advanced marine research facilities or powerful ocean industries.
Why the high seas matter to West Africa
The high seas lie beyond the national jurisdiction of individual countries and account for a substantial share of the world’s ocean. Although these waters are distant from many coastal communities, their ecological health is connected to the productivity and resilience of the wider ocean.
Marine species migrate across national boundaries. Ocean systems connect habitats and food webs. Human activities in international waters can also affect biodiversity and the long-term health of marine ecosystems.
For West African countries, therefore, the governance of the high seas cannot be separated entirely from the future of coastal fisheries and marine livelihoods. The BBNJ Agreement does not replace national fisheries laws or regional fisheries management arrangements, but it can complement wider efforts to protect marine biodiversity and improve international cooperation.
The agreement also raises important questions about fairness. Who benefits from discoveries involving marine genetic resources? How should countries with limited scientific capacity participate in decisions about marine protected areas? What support will developing countries receive to assess environmental impacts and monitor activities in international waters?
These questions matter because legal commitments alone cannot guarantee equitable participation. If African countries lack the scientific expertise, financial resources and negotiating capacity to influence implementation, the potential benefits of the agreement may not be distributed fairly.
COP1 must therefore be treated as an opportunity to advance both conservation and equity.
The crisis begins much closer to home
However, African leaders should not approach COP1 as though the future of the ocean will be determined exclusively in New York.
Across West Africa, the pressures on marine ecosystems are already visible in the daily realities of fishing communities. The World Bank’s work on fisheries in West Africa highlights the importance of improved fisheries governance and sustainable management. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing threatens the sustainability of fish stocks and weakens the livelihoods of lawful operators.
Pollution adds another layer of pressure. Plastic waste, poorly managed wastewater and other forms of coastal pollution threaten marine habitats and the communities that depend on them. Mangroves, wetlands and other coastal ecosystems, which provide habitat for marine species and help protect shorelines, also require sustained conservation and restoration.
Climate change compounds these challenges through warming waters, sea-level rise and changing marine conditions. For coastal communities already facing economic uncertainty, environmental degradation can deepen insecurity and make livelihoods less resilient.
The consequences extend beyond the environment. When fisheries deteriorate, fishing households can lose income, fish processors and traders face reduced supplies, and communities may find it harder to maintain affordable access to an important source of protein.
Women, who play significant roles in fish processing, preservation and trading across the region, can be particularly affected when catches decline or the cost of obtaining fish rises. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s work with women’s fisheries associations in West Africa illustrates their importance to the fisheries value chain and the challenges they face.
The response must therefore recognise ocean conservation as a development priority. Protecting marine biodiversity is connected to food security, employment, public health and the economic prospects of coastal communities.
African leadership must move from commitments to coordination
West Africa does not lack environmental commitments. The challenge is to ensure that international promises translate into consistent implementation, adequate financing and measurable improvements.
COP1 offers African governments an opportunity to approach ocean diplomacy with a clearer, coordinated regional agenda.
First, governments should strengthen cooperation through existing regional and continental institutions. Marine ecosystems and fisheries do not stop at national borders, and isolated responses will struggle to address problems that span multiple jurisdictions. Countries should coordinate their positions, share scientific information and support regional approaches to monitoring and protecting marine biodiversity.
Second, African representatives should push for meaningful capacity-building and technology transfer under the BBNJ Agreement. Participation should extend beyond attending meetings and delivering statements. Countries need access to marine science, data, training and monitoring technologies that enable them to assess environmental risks, participate in decisions and benefit fairly from ocean-related research. The official UN overview of the BBNJ Agreement explains the treaty’s provisions on capacity-building and marine technology transfer.
Third, governments should insist that conservation measures are supported by adequate, accessible and predictable financing. Developing countries should not be expected to meet increasingly complex conservation responsibilities without the resources to implement them. African negotiators should engage actively in discussions about the agreement’s funding arrangements and ensure that the needs of developing coastal states receive serious consideration.
Fourth, African leaders should strengthen domestic ocean governance. International negotiations cannot substitute for effective enforcement against illegal fishing, transparent management of fisheries, stronger pollution controls or protection of vulnerable coastal habitats. Governments must connect their commitments under international agreements with national laws, budgets and implementation plans.
Finally, coastal communities must have a meaningful voice. Fishers, processors, traders, scientists, local organisations and civil society groups possess knowledge that can improve conservation decisions. Policies designed without their participation risk overlooking local realities or placing disproportionate burdens on communities that already face economic pressures.
Conservation should protect the ocean while recognising the rights, knowledge and livelihoods of the people who depend on it.
A fair ocean agreement must also be an African opportunity
The BBNJ Agreement is particularly significant because it creates an international framework for addressing biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. Its implementation will involve difficult questions about conservation priorities, environmental assessments, scientific cooperation and the equitable sharing of benefits.
African countries should not approach these discussions merely as recipients of decisions made elsewhere. They have an interest in helping shape the rules, institutions and partnerships that will determine how the agreement operates.
This requires preparation. Governments need to identify their priorities before negotiations, consult scientists and coastal communities, coordinate with other developing countries where interests align, and establish clear positions on capacity-building, technology transfer and financing.
It also requires accountability after the conference. Citizens should be able to understand what their governments committed to, how those commitments will be implemented and what resources will be allocated to them.
Journalists have an important role in this process. Coverage of COP1 should go beyond diplomatic statements and announcements of new commitments. Reporting should examine the implications of decisions for West African fisheries, the fairness of access to marine scientific knowledge, the financing available to developing countries and the connection between high-seas governance and coastal livelihoods.
The public deserves to know not only what governments promise, but also what those promises mean in practice.
The time to act is now
West Africa’s relationship with the ocean is too important to leave its future to fragmented policies and occasional international declarations.
COP1 will not solve the region’s fisheries, pollution or coastal protection challenges on its own. Nor does the BBNJ Agreement replace the national and regional measures required to address them. But the conference provides a significant opportunity to strengthen international cooperation and influence the implementation of a treaty designed to protect marine biodiversity beyond national borders.
African leaders should arrive in New York with clear priorities, coordinated positions and a commitment to turning negotiations into action. They should seek fair access to science and technology, adequate support for implementation, effective international conservation measures and a meaningful role in decisions affecting the global ocean.
They must also return home prepared to strengthen fisheries management, protect coastal ecosystems, reduce marine pollution and involve the communities whose futures are tied to the sea.
The ocean does not recognise the political boundaries that divide countries. Its protection demands cooperation across them.
For West Africa, the stakes are measured not only in biodiversity conserved or marine areas protected, but also in the future of fishing livelihoods, food security and the resilience of coastal communities.
COP1 is a chance for African leadership to help shape that future. The question is whether governments will use the opportunity to secure meaningful action—or allow another important international commitment to remain largely on paper.
By Gideon Sarpong
