The member states of the UN will try Friday to overcome their differences to finally snatch an agreement on the treaty to protect the high seas, fragile and vital treasure which covers nearly half of the planet.
After more than 15 years of informal and then formal discussions, the negotiators are coming to the end of two more weeks of talks in New York, the third “last” session in less than a year.
“Be ready to run the marathon to the finish line and focus on the work to be done,” said Rena Lee, president of this conference on Thursday, which could spill over late into the night from Friday to Saturday.
But on the eve of this long-awaited conclusion, several disputes were still on the table: procedure for creating marine protected areas, method of implementing environmental impact studies for activities planned on the high seas, or sharing potential benefits from marine genetic resources.
“We are still quite far from a clean text,” commented Liz Karan, of the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts.
In this home stretch, observers are hoping for a political boost from the “Our Ocean” conference, which is taking place in parallel in Panama in the presence of many ministers who are looking into the protection and sustainable use of the oceans.
“Life on Earth depends on a healthy ocean. The new high seas treaty will be crucial to our common goal of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030,” said Monica Medina, oceans manager at the Department of Oceania. American state.
In December, all of the world’s governments pledged to protect 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. A nearly impossible challenge without including the high seas, of which only about 1% is protected today .
The high seas begin where the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the States end, at a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coasts, and it is therefore not under the jurisdiction of any country.
Even though it represents more than 60% of the oceans and almost half of the planet, it has long been ignored, in favor of coastal areas and emblematic species.
– North-South equity –
However, ocean ecosystems produce half of the oxygen we breathe, limit global warming by absorbing a large part of the CO2 emitted by human activities, and feed part of humanity. But they are threatened by climate change, pollution of all kinds and overfishing.
“Despite the various outstanding issues — and the list is long — my impression is that there will be an agreement at the end of this session,” Li Shuo of Greenpeace told AFP.
For him, the political will is there and it all boils down to “North versus South, the question of justice and equity”.
Developing countries are indeed worried about not being fully party to the treaty due to a lack of financial resources; and fear being deprived of their share of the commercialization cake of potential miraculous molecules discovered in these international waters.
With an announcement seen as a gesture to build North-South confidence, the European Union promised New York 40 million euros to facilitate the ratification of the treaty and its initial implementation. Beyond that, she announced in Panama more than 800 million euros devoted to the protection of the oceans in general for 2023.
John Kerry, White House special envoy for the climate, also announced in Panama that the United States will commit 6 billion dollars to 77 projects, without specifying over what period.
According to several observers interviewed by AFP, resolving these financial issues, which are politically very sensitive, could unlock the rest and finally allow the text to be submitted for approval by the conference.
“No one has given up yet,” comments Nathalie Rey, from the High Seas Alliance, which brings together around forty NGOs, who fears the “bad signal” that a third failure would send despite the political will displayed.
In the event of an agreement, it remains to be seen whether, with the compromises agreed, the text will be sufficiently solid to make it possible to effectively protect the oceans.
“By adopting a robust and ambitious agreement at this session, you can take an important step towards reversing destructive trends and improving the health of the oceans for generations to come,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted this week.
