After more than fifteen years of negotiations, United Nations member states have agreed on a legally binding treaty to protect biodiversity in international waters. The treaty includes provisions for establishing and maintaining a network of marine protected areas, facilitating the realization of the “Thirty by Thirty” agreement to safeguard thirty percent of the ocean by 2030. The treaty also includes new standards for conducting environmental impact assessments, though fishing and deep-sea mining will be excluded, as they are currently regulated by other bodies. For the treaty to be implemented, the delegates must adopt the treaty text at a next meeting and a minimum of sixty states must ratify it, which could take months or years.