Two thirds of the seas and oceans are beyond national jurisdiction. At present, the protection of this high sea and the seabed is only regulated in a very general way by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982). The so-called "Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction" (BBNJ) process aims to change this and is based on UN-Resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017 for the drafting of a legally binding convention on the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. To support this process, Belgium will hold a stakeholder consultation on the four key issues of this future convention on 14 February 2019.