Ensuring the Sustained Involvement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Implementation of the BBNJ Agreement

This Brief aims to explore the options for how the financial mechanism of the BBNJ Agreement, established under Article 52, can best “support conservation and sustainable use programmes by Indigenous Peoples and local communities as holders of traditional knowledge;”....

Published on the 18 August 2025 by Secretariat of the Advisory Group on BBNJ Finance
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Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the custodians of a wealth of traditional knowledge of the ocean and its resources. This knowledge, along with the Indigenous Peoples and local communities who hold it, have been recognised by the international community in the international legally binding 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 (BBNJ Agreement). 

The agreement relies on three key forms of traditional knowledge relevant to the BBNJ Agreement:

  • traditional knowledge about the interconnectedness of species and marine processes (both active and passive) between areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs) and coastal waters
  • traditional knowledge derived from effective environmental management practices in coastal areas, which can serve as examples for ABNJ conservation
  • traditional knowledge rooted in non-instrument navigation techniques used by coastal communities to traverse both local waters and ABNJs.
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This document has been prepared by the University of New South Wales Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, serving as the Secretariat to the BBNJ Finance Advisory Group (Advisory Group) with inputs from the members of the Advisory Group. The Advisory Group consists of global experts serving in their personal capacity to provide thought leadership on innovative financial mechanisms for the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.

Members of the Advisory Group contribute diverse perspectives to advance discussions and offer expert insights, but their participation does not constitute endorsement of all content. The opinions expressed in this note and other outputs, do not represent the official positions of any government, organisation, country, or member. This initiative is supported by the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative.

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