World leaders urged to agree to treaty to protect marine life after groups say planet’s last desert was treated ‘recklessly’
UN member states will meet in New York to craft a long-awaited treaty that, if agreed, will govern the last lawless wasteland on the planet: the high seas.
Two hundred nautical miles beyond the territorial waters and jurisdiction of nations, the high seas have been treated “recklessly”, according to environmental groups.
Warning that the outcome of the negotiations, which will run from Monday to August 26, will determine the ocean’s fate for generations, they are calling on world leaders to agree to an ambitious and legally binding treaty to protect marine life and reverse the loss of biodiversity.
“The high seas symbolize the tragedy of the commons,” said Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International. “Because they belonged to no one, they were recklessly treated with impunity. We need a common governance mechanism for our oceans to ensure that no one’s waters become everyone’s waters and everyone’s responsibility.”
Situated beyond nations’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and representing two-thirds of the ocean, the high seas play a vital role in supporting fisheries, providing habitats for ecosystems crucial to the health of the planet and mitigating climate change.
But only 1% of the high seas are protected.
Awa Traoré, ocean activist with Greenpeace Africa, said that in the two decades that governments have been discussing a high seas treaty, marine life has suffered.
“ Here in West Africa, we have already seen fish stocks severely depleted by industrial fishing vessels, often from Europe, and this is already undermining livelihoods and food security across the region,” Traoré said. “Any further delay would be a slap in the face to everyone who trusts political leaders to keep their promises. Delegates must deliver on their governments’ commitments and finalize an ambitious global ocean treaty now.”
One hundred nations have pledged to protect 30% of the planet’s lands and seas by 2030. But without an agreement, these promises will have no legal basis on the high seas.
This month’s talks are the second attempt this year to reach an agreement on the high seas.
At a UN oceans conference in June, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared an “ocean emergency” and suggested that “selfishness” by some governments was hampering efforts to reach a treaty on the high seas. At the same conference in Lisbon, Rena Lee, chairman of the intergovernmental conference on BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction), which will chair the New York treaty negotiations, told delegates: “Tell your negotiators to come to the fifth session with maximum flexibility to get to the finish line”.
The ocean plays a key role in protecting the world from the climate crisis by absorbing carbon dioxide and 90% of the heat caused by warming. But sea levels, ocean warming, acidification and greenhouse gas concentrations all hit record levels last year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Global Climate report, undermining the ocean’s ability to sink carbon.
A treaty that is waiting
On Friday, the High Seas Alliance, a coalition of 50 environmental organizations, will launch a “treaty tracker” to identify and shame countries that say they are dragging their feet in negotiations.
The alliance will assess each country’s negotiating positions, with a “high”, “low” or “business as usual” level of ambition. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions calling for all 193 nations to sign a strong treaty to protect the ocean.
At least 49 countries, including the UK and the 27 EU countries, have pledged to reach an ambitious outcome in the negotiations.
“Time is running out,” said Sophia Tsenikli, Senior Strategic Advisor for the High Seas Alliance. “We want a really strong treaty that allows the ocean to recover from the accumulating threats.”
One of the main obstacles to reaching an agreement is how the treaty, which will establish a new international body, will interact with other organizations. When negotiations were settled by the UN general assembly, it became clear that the treaty should not undermine existing organizations.
Liz Karan, project director for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ offshore conservation program and an observer in the negotiations, wants the new body to be empowered to establish and monitor marine protected areas and have a role in deciding an impact assessment for offshore activities. are sufficiently complete before the activity takes place.
Karan said he was hopeful, given the high-level coalition and positive statements from world leaders in Lisbon, that there was political will to move things forward.
“We need a comprehensive agreement, but one that results in effective conservation on the high seas,” he said.
By Karen McVeigh. Article in English