Negotiators from more than 100 countries reached agreement on a UN treaty on the protection of seas and oceans in New York on Saturday. The long-awaited ‘High Seas’ agreement aims to ensure that 30 percent of the oceans are protected by 2030. That reports Reuters.
The binding treaty to conserve biodiversity in international waters and ensure sustainable use of the oceans, which has been discussed for 15 years, was finalized in New York on Saturday evening after five lengthy rounds of negotiations.
“The ship has come ashore,” said Rena Lee, president of the UN conference, after a final 38-hour negotiation marathon. According to environmental groups, the agreement is an important step in combating the loss of marine biodiversity.
The previous international treaty relating to oceans, the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, was signed in 1982. That agreement regulated the creation of international waters, where countries have the right to fish, navigate and research.
Read also: The oceans are not doing well, and no one is responsible
Growing threats
However, only a fraction of international waters enjoy any protection. Pollution, climate change and overfishing are growing threats. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), nearly 10 percent of marine species are threatened with extinction, the BBC reports.
The new treaty is seen as a key component in global efforts to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and sea by the end of this decade. That target, known as “30 by 30,” was agreed at the Biodiversity Summit in Montreal, Canada, in December.
Economic interests were a major obstacle in the most recent round of negotiations, which began on February 20. Developing countries demanded a larger share of the ‘blue economy’, including technology transfer. Sharing the proceeds of genetic material from the oceans, which are used in biotechnology, for example, was also a subject of disagreement.
According to Greenpeace, 11 million square kilometers of ocean must be protected each year to meet the target by 2030. “Countries must formally adopt the treaty and ratify it as soon as possible for it to take effect,” said Laura Meller, a Greenpeace representative who campaigning for the protection of oceans and who attended the talks.