With the entry into force of the landmark United Nations treaty for the protection of the high seas in January, West Africa could establish itself as a major player in ocean protection, provided it overcomes certain local challenges.
On January 17, 2026, a landmark treaty for ocean protection entered into force. Ratified by 81 countries, the United Nations Agreement on the High Seas (or BBNJ for « Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction » ) allows for the creation of marine protected areas in the high seas.
Although it represents 43% of the Earth’s surface, the high seas, which extend beyond the territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of each State, were until now cruelly under-protected: overfishing, destruction of ecosystems, marine pollution, implementation of deep-sea mining projects , etc.
The entry into force of this treaty is a first step towards achieving the goal set by the Nations in 2022, of sustainably protecting 30% of marine and terrestrial ecosystems by 2030. And West Africa could play a leading role in meeting this major challenge.
« Africa is ready »
« Africa is ready , » wrote Sikeade Oluwakemi Egbuwalo , a leading diplomat in Nigeria in the fight for climate, the day after the United Nations agreement on the protection of the high seas came into force.
By calling on other nations to follow Nigeria’s example, she was recalling the terms of a vast project for a 200,000 km2 marine protected area in the Atlantic Ocean, supported by the member countries of the « Economic Community of West African States » (Ecowas).
The establishment of this area would help to protect ecosystems rich in marine biodiversity (dolphins, tuna, mangroves, coral among others), which extend from Senegal and the Cape Verde archipelago, to the coast of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe.
As journalist Mustapha Manneh points out on the news site Dialogue Earth , for decades West Africa has been striving to combat the risks associated with ocean degradation ( coastal erosion , flooding, cyclones), but also overfishing and illegal fishing, practiced by local vessels, but also foreign ones, particularly Chinese .
According to figures from Le Monde , the once abundant waters of West Africa have a fish stock overexploitation rate of 50%, one of the highest in the world. Furthermore, nearly 20% of the world’s illegally caught fish come from the waters of six West African countries: Cape Verde, Guinea, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
« A handful of foreign players dominate our seas, it is an injustice that has existed for a long time and this treaty gives us a chance to restore the balance , » said Ms. Egbuwalo.
Mobilisation
“Africa does not need permission to lead a global effort to protect the oceans,” wrote Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai last year . “The African Group, a bloc of 54 nations, was a leading voice in the negotiations of the BBNJ Treaty,” he added. Of the 87 countries that have ratified this landmark treaty, 17 are African, and 17 other countries on the continent have only signed it (a less binding step).
« We understand that the suffering of the oceans is not the problem of one country alone, and that no country can solve it alone, » says Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
While South Africa has established itself as a leader in ocean conservation for years , particularly thanks to its naval resources and investments in science, West African countries are gradually emerging as important players in the field.
In December 2024, Monrovia hosted an international conference on fisheries in the Gulf of Guinea. President Boakai called for greater collaboration among countries in the region to combat illegal fishing, marine pollution , and the consequences of climate change.
Another example; Ghana (which is among the countries supporting the West African high seas marine protected area project) announced the creation of its first marine protected area in its territorial waters in June 2025.
However, West African countries struggle to protect their marine biodiversity at the local level and to assert their sovereignty at sea in the face of more powerful historical actors such as Europe and China .
The scars of centuries of injustice
As Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, an expert on maritime governance in Africa, points out, the entry into force of the BBNJ treaty is a step forward for ocean conservation. However, it alone will not be enough to dismantle centuries of unequal access to resources that have hampered the ability of African nations to exploit and protect their own oceans.
Many African institutions lack stable funding, ships, offshore equipment and data collection infrastructure, even though their regions are central to global shipping, fishing and emerging industries such as seabed mining,” according to Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood.
Many national marine protected areas in West Africa are already suffering from these funding gaps, which impact monitoring, awareness-raising, and consultation with populations living in marine protected areas.
In Mauritania, the Banc d’Arguin National Park , a meeting point between the Atlantic and the Sahara, is doubly protected by its status as a marine protected area and its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1989.
However, shark fishing, officially prohibited, is still practiced by the inhabitants of the park, reflecting a lack of investment which leads to a conflict between environmental issues and the survival of some local communities, for whom fishing is the only source of food and income.
We can also mention the Bijagós archipelago, off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. A string of islands that shelters several marine protected areas rich in biodiversity, mainly dependent on foreign funding.
West Africa can seize its chance
Protecting the high seas is a game-changer in West Africa, explains Ms. Okafor-Yarwood, but only if that protection is implemented effectively.
Without increased support for local actors in ocean protection, « efforts to curb [illegal] fishing will be undermined, access to marine resources will remain unequal and African institutions will continue to be relegated to the background in international discussions, » the researcher fears.
« In short, this will just reproduce ocean-related injustices on a larger scale , » Mustapha Manneh summarizes in the pages of Dialogue Earth.
But this treaty could also be the beginning of a new era. « The establishment [of a marine protected area in the high seas off West Africa] will create jobs for local people, who will be able to regain control over the management of their environment, » hopes Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, before reminding everyone that these countries « are fighting for the survival of their people and their livelihoods . «
source : GEO
