Negotiators from more than 100 countries completed a UN treaty to protect the high seas on Saturday, a long-awaited step that environmental groups say will help reverse marine biodiversity losses and ensure sustainable development. The legally binding pact to conserve and ensure the sustainable use of ocean biodiversity, under discussion for 15 years, was finally agreed after five rounds of protracted UN-led negotiations that ended in New York on Saturday, a day after the original deadline. “The ship has reached the shore,” the UN conference president, Rena Lee, said after a marathon final day of talks.
The treaty is seen as a crucial component in global efforts to bring 30% of the world’s land and sea under protection by the end of the decade, a target known as “30 by 30” agreed in Montreal in December. Economic interests were a major sticking point throughout the latest round of negotiations, which began on February 20.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, hailed the agreement as a “historic moment”. Greenpeace says 11 million square km of ocean needs to be put under protection every year until 2030 to meet the target. Very little of the high seas is subject to any protection, with pollution, acidification and overfishing posing a growing threat.
The treaty will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas. The treaty also establishes ground rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in the oceans.
The treaty is seen as a crucial component in global efforts to bring 30% of the world’s land and sea under protection by the end of the decade, a target known as “30 by 30” agreed in Montreal in December. Economic interests were a major sticking point throughout the latest round of negotiations, which began on February 20.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, hailed the agreement as a “historic moment”. Greenpeace says 11 million square km of ocean needs to be put under protection every year until 2030 to meet the target. Very little of the high seas is subject to any protection, with pollution, acidification and overfishing posing a growing threat.
The treaty will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas. The treaty also establishes ground rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in the oceans.