WTO Deal Could Help Secure the Future of Ocean Biodiversity

When 196 countries agreed in December 2022 to a historic road map outlining goals and actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss worldwide, they committed to efforts on a number of pressing challenges, including eliminating subsidies that harm biodiversity. As global leaders gather again this month in Colombia for the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, they need to maintain international momentum around curbing government subsidies that can take a toll on the health of the ocean and the wide range of species that depend on it.

The road map, formally called the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, came at the close of the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Montreal. Notably, it includes a call for governments to collectively protect 30% of the planet’s ocean, land and fresh water by 2030, spurring a global movement known as “30 by 30.” The framework also contains four long-term goals to be achieved by 2050 and 23 more targeted steps to be completed through urgent action by 2030.

Now, two years later, nations are meeting in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October to 1 November, to review and further discuss their progress delivering on the framework. COP 16 comes as members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) separately work toward strengthening a fisheries subsidies agreement that was adopted in June 2022. Together, the two processes represent important progress in protecting ocean biodiversity and highlight how international cooperation on trade policies could support the global biodiversity agenda.

Within the Global Biodiversity Framework, countries committed to what is known as Target 18, which calls for them to eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including government subsidies, that harm biodiversity – and to do so in a proportionate, just, fair and equitable way. To meet this target, countries first must identify incentives that are harmful to biodiversity by 2025. Those incentives should then be eliminated outright, scaled back by progressively reducing them every year until 2030 or, in cases where elimination or phasing out is not possible because of socioeconomic factors, steps should be taken to reduce their negative impact on biodiversity.

Currently, more than one-third of fish stocks worldwide are exploited beyond sustainable levels, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Still, governments have been providing fishing fleets an estimated $22 billion annually in subsidies that ultimately encourage overfishing. And that can threaten fish populations or even lead to extinction. It also can worsen the bycatch of vulnerable species – such as dolphins and sea turtles – and further drive biodiversity loss.

Separately, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies limits subsidies that enable illegal fishing and fishing of overfished stocks, as well as subsidies for the operation of vessels that fish on the unregulated high seas. The agreement must be ratified by 111 members to enter into force. To date, 85 countries have ratified the pact and while this move toward implementation is extremely positive, countries also must consider how they build on that progress to ensure it can effectively address the biodiversity challenges that countries committed to tackling in Montreal.

One solution is close at hand. WTO members agreed in 2022 to work on additional provisions to address unresolved issues, including steps on subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity, which is defined as when fleets have the technical capability to take more fish from a stock than can be replenished through reproduction. Although negotiators came close at the WTO Ministerial Conference in February 2024 and again in the lead-up to the General Council meeting this July, the additional rules have not been finalized and require further talks.

During COP 16, curbing harmful fisheries subsidies will be a key focus in the ongoing multinational discussion on how countries can accelerate ocean conservation progress and translate the Global Biodiversity Framework into action. Advancing and finalizing additional provisions to strengthen the existing fisheries subsidies agreement would bring the world closer to achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework’s targets by 2030, especially Target 18. These additional rules are critical to improving ocean health, helping fish stocks recover and supporting the livelihoods of the millions of people who depend on those stocks.

Anindita Chakraborty is an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ ocean governance project and Megan Jungwiwattanaporn is an officer working on cross-campaign efforts within Pew’s conservation work.