For the primary time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to guard biodiversity within the excessive seas, concluding two weeks of talks in New York.
The UN Conference on the Legislation of the Sea got here into power in 1994, earlier than marine biodiversity was a well-established idea.
An up to date framework to guard marine life within the areas outdoors nationwide boundary waters, referred to as the excessive seas, had been in discussions for greater than 20 years.
However earlier efforts to achieve an settlement had repeatedly stalled. The unified settlement treaty was reached late Saturday.
A 'once-in-a-generation alternative to guard the oceans'
“We solely actually have two main world commons — the environment and the oceans,” mentioned Georgetown marine biologist Rebecca Helm.
Whereas the oceans could draw much less consideration, “defending this half of earth’s floor is totally essential to the well being of our planet."
Now that the long-awaited treaty textual content has been finalized, Nichola Clark, an oceans knowledgeable on the Pew Charitable Trusts who noticed the talks in New York, mentioned: "It is a once-in-a-generation alternative to guard the oceans — a serious win for biodiversity."
The treaty will create a brand new physique to handle the conservation of ocean life and set up marine protected areas on the excessive seas. And Clark mentioned that is essential to realize the UN Biodiversity Convention’s latest pledge to guard 30% of the planet’s waters, in addition to its land, for conservation.
The treaty additionally establishes floor guidelines for conducting environmental affect assessments for business actions within the oceans.
“It means all actions deliberate for the excessive seas should be checked out, although not all will undergo a full evaluation,” mentioned Jessica Battle, an oceans governance knowledgeable on the Worldwide Fund for Nature.
Settlement knits collectively completely different regional treaties
Many marine species — together with dolphins, whales, sea turtles and lots of fish — make lengthy annual migrations, crossing nationwide borders and the excessive seas.
Efforts to guard them have beforehand been hampered by a complicated patchwork of legal guidelines.
“This treaty will assist to knit collectively the completely different regional treaties to have the ability to handle threats and issues throughout species' ranges,” mentioned Battle.
That safety additionally helps coastal biodiversity and economies, mentioned Gladys Martínez de Lemos, government director of the non-profit Interamerican Affiliation for Environmental Protection specializing in environmental points throughout Latin America.
“Governments have taken an necessary step that strengthens the authorized safety of two-thirds of the ocean and with it marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal communities,” she mentioned.
The query now's how properly the formidable treaty might be carried out.
The excessive seas have lengthy suffered exploitation resulting from business fishing and mining, in addition to air pollution from chemical compounds and plastics.
The brand new settlement is about “acknowledging that the ocean is just not a limitless useful resource, and it requires world cooperation to make use of the ocean sustainably,” mentioned Malin Pinsky, a biologist at Rutgers College.
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