After 10 years of negotiations, the United Nations has reached a historic agreement to protect the world’s oceans.
The High Seas Treaty places 30 percent of the oceans in protected areas by 2030, with the goal of protecting and restoring marine nature.
The agreement was reached on Saturday evening after 38 hours of negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The negotiations dragged on for years due to disagreements over funding and fishing rights.
The last international treaty on the protection of the sea was signed 40 years ago in 1982 – the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The treaty established an area known as the high seas — international waters where all countries have the right to fish, ship and conduct research — but only 1.2 percent of those waters are protected.
Marine life outside these protected areas is threatened by climate change, overfishing and shipping.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in the latest assessment of global marine species, about 10 percent were found to be threatened with extinction.
These new protected areas, established in the agreement, will limit how much fishing can take place, shipping lanes and exploratory activities such as deep-sea mining – when minerals are found 200 meters below the surface. or more is taken from the seabed below.
Environmental groups are concerned that mining operations can disturb animal breeding grounds, create noise pollution and be toxic to marine life.
The International Seabed Authority, which oversees licensing, told JEE News that going forward “any future activity in the deep seabed will be subject to strict environmental regulations and monitoring to ensure that it is sustainable.” And done responsibly.”
Rena Lee, the UN ambassador for the oceans, brought down the gavel after two weeks of negotiations that threatened to unravel at times.
Mina Epps, director of the IUCN Ocean Team, said the main issue is the sharing of marine genetic resources.
Marine genetic resources are biological materials derived from plants and animals in the ocean that may have benefits for society, such as pharmaceuticals, industrial processes and food.
Rich countries currently have the resources and funds to explore the deep sea, but poor nations want to ensure that whatever benefits they receive are shared equally.
