WASHINGTON — For the first time, members of the United Nations have agreed on a treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas, an ambitious treaty whose formal adoption is yet to come.
The deal, however, marks a turning point in efforts to bring order to vast swathes of the planet where conservation has already been hampered by confused laws.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea entered into force in 1994, before marine biodiversity was a well-established concept. The agreement was reached after two weeks of talks at UN headquarters in New York.
An updated framework to protect marine biodiversity in regions outside national boundary waters had been discussed for more than 20 years, but efforts to reach a new agreement had repeatedly stalled. The agreement, whose scope applies to nearly half the surface of the planet, was reached late Saturday.
“We really only have two big global commons: the atmosphere and the oceans,” said Georgetown marine biologist Rebecca Helm. Even though the oceans get less attention, “protecting this half of the Earth’s surface is absolutely essential to the health of our planet.”
Nichola Clark, an oceans expert with the Pew Charitable Trusts who observed the talks in New York, called the long-awaited text “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect the oceans — a big win for biodiversity.”
Once formally adopted, the document will create a new body to manage the conservation of marine biodiversity and establish marine protected areas on the high seas. United Nations on Biodiversity to protect 30% of the planet’s waters, as well as its land, for conservation.
Negotiations were originally scheduled to end on Friday, but they continued until Saturday. The drafting of the treaty, which sometimes seemed threatened, represents “a historic success”, declared Steffi Lemke, German Minister for the Environment.
“For the first time, we are getting a binding agreement for the high seas, which so far have been virtually unprotected,” Lemke said. “Comprehensive protection of threatened species and habitats is finally possible on more than 40% of the Earth’s surface.”
The treaty also establishes ground rules for commercial activities in the oceans.
“This means that all planned activities on the high seas must be reviewed, although not all will be subject to a full assessment,” said Jessica Battle, ocean governance expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Several marine species, including dolphins, whales, sea turtles and many fish, make long annual migrations, crossing borders. Efforts to protect them, and the communities that depend on fishing or marine-related tourism, have proven difficult for international bodies.
“This treaty will help bring together the various regional treaties to be able to address threats and concerns across the species’ range,” Ms Battle said.
This protection also helps coastal economies, said Gladys Martinez, executive director of the nonprofit Inter-American Environmental Association Lemos, which focuses on environmental issues across Latin America.
“Governments have taken an important step that strengthens the legal protection of two-thirds of the ocean, as well as marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal communities,” she said.
The question now is to what extent the ambitious treaty will be implemented.
The high seas have long suffered from exploitation due to commercial fishing and the exploitation of natural resources, as well as pollution from chemicals and plastics. The new agreement seeks to “recognize that the ocean is not an unlimited resource and requires global cooperation to use it sustainably,” Rutgers University biologist Malin Pinsky said in the statement. State of New Jersey.
