Global Ocean Protection Plan Passes
By Tom Molloy
After 38 hours of talks at the UN, following 10 years of negotiations, nations have reached an agreement to protect the worlds oceans. Called the High Seas Treaty, it has a goal to put 30% of the world’s seas into protected areas by 2030, to preserve and nurture marine life. Currently, 1.2% of oceans are protected today from over fishing, exploitation and vessel traffic. The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.
According to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), nearly 10% of global marine species are at risk of extinction. The High Seas Treaty establishes marine protected areas which will help achieve the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans – the goal made at the UN biodiversity conference.
These areas will put limits on how much fishing can take place, the routes of shipping lanes, and exploitation activities like deep sea mining. Mining processes can disturb animal breeding grounds, create noise pollution and be toxic for marine life. The International Seabed Authority that oversees licensing says that any future activity in the deep seabed will be subject to strict environmental regulations and oversight.
The agreement had been threatened by the issue over the sharing of marine genetic resources. Marine genetic resources are biological material from plants and animals in the ocean that can have benefits for society, such as pharmaceuticals, industrial processes and food. For example, sea sponges have yielded key ingredients for HIV and cancer treatments.
Richer nations currently have the resources and funding to explore the deep ocean but poorer nations wanted to ensure any benefits they find are shared equally.
Scientists have recorded about 230,000 species in the ocean, but it’s estimated that there are over two million.
Countries must now ratify the agreement through their own parliaments, and then set up bodies to implement the program all of which can take years.
Nevertheless, Laura Meller, an oceans campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic, commended countries for “putting aside differences and delivering a treaty that will let us protect the oceans, build our resilience to climate change and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of billions of people”.
She added “This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics.”
