UNITED NATIONS - (Xinhua) -- The intergovernmental conference to draft the first-ever treaty on marine biodiversity opened its fifth and likely final session at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.

The new treaty aims to codify international law on territorial waters, sea lanes and marine resources, while defining the legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas.

"It is my hope that we can make real progress in these two weeks, with the goal of finalizing the agreement as soon as possible," said Intergovernmental Conference Chair Rina Lee, calling on delegates to prepare to work hard while delving into the technical and legal details.

The fifth session, which will run until August 26, is expected to be the last in a series that has begun since 2018 to draft an international legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.

Li said the negotiations aimed to address marine genetic resources, including issues related to benefit-sharing, and measures such as area-based management tools, environmental impact assessment, capacity-building, and transfer of marine technology.

She added that delegates were asked to submit text proposals for the fifth session, noting that a workbook containing all the materials was released in early August.

In its resolution 72/249 of 24 December 2017, the General Assembly decided to convene an intergovernmental conference to elaborate on the text of an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and use of marine biological diversity.