After a decade and a half of negotiations, the UN member states reached agreement on the establishment of the landmark treaty to conserve and sustainably use the marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ treaty) in the context of the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC 5-2).* The IGC 5-2 took place from 20 February to 4 March 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York with the mandate to deal with the numerous issues that had been left pending at the conclusion of IGC-5 in August 2022.

The 79th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 79) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was convened from 12 to 16 December 2022 at IMO Headquarters in London. On 15 December 2022 MEPC 79 adopted the drafted amendments and formally designated the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an Emission Control Area (ECA) for Sulphur Oxides and particulate matter under regulation 14 of Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in an effort to halt the air pollution from ships.

On November 29, 2022, Tunisia, under Decree No 2022/917, ratified the ICZM Protocol becoming the 13th Contracting Party bound by the relevant provisions. Signed in January 2008 in Madrid by 15 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and entered into force on March 24, 2011, following the sixth ratification of the Protocol by the Syrian Arab Republic, the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Protocol constitutes the first regional, legally binding regulatory instrument concerning coastal zone management.