8 March 2023 – After 15 years of negotiations the UN high seas treaty has finally been agreed by over 100 nations.
A historic agreement has been reached after over a decade of talks by the countries of the United Nations (UN), which will protect a large area of the world’s seas.
With the last international agreement that aimed at protecting our oceans being signed in 1982, the new agreement is another vital step forward in the fight against climate change.
Aiming to protect the biodiversity of our marine life, the high seas treaty is a sign that the world is finally willing to act to protect our planet.
The UN High Seas Treaty
The United Nations have negotiated this treaty for over 10 years, in an attempt to protect the high seas and the marine life in it.
The high seas cover almost two-thirds (60%) of our oceans. They are basically international waters, which don’t belong to any country.
As such, these areas can be accessed by all countries for fishing, shipping and research. Before the treaty was agreed, only around 1% of these high seas were protected.
This resulted in the marine life in these waters to be at risk from climate change, overfishing and shipping traffic.
The treaty will create protected areas, called marine protected areas (MPAs), within these international waters, which will help to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030.
The level of protection has not yet been agreed, as this is still a sticking point between the nations. But what has been agreed on is that restrictions on how much fishing is allowed in these MPAs will be introduced.
It has also been agreed that there will be limits on the routes of shipping lanes in these areas, as well as on exploration activities, such as deep sea mining.
The treaty also includes measures to put in place arrangements for the sharing of marine genetic resources. This will ensure that any benefits gained from these areas are shared freely to help societies in all countries.
It was also agreed that any deep sea activities, for example mining, need to be environmentally assessed to ensure that it won’t harm the ecosystems in these MPAs.
As part of the treaty, richer UN nations have pledged to provide new money to ensure the treaty can be delivered. But because no concrete figures have been mentioned, developing nations have expressed their disappointment.
Why The Treaty Matters
Our oceans are important ecosystems that help keep the balance between oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption.
It is estimated that our oceans produce almost half of the planet’s oxygen. At the same time, they also absorb just over a quarter of the carbon dioxide that is produced. Therefore, our oceans are just as important in our fight against climate change as are forests.
But they can only do this if they are healthy. And at the moment their health is under threat from pollution, especially plastic pollution, exploitation and global warming.
According to research by the Interantional Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), close to 10% of marine species are at risk of extinction. 41% of which are also severely affected by climate change.
The two biggest causes [of extinction] are overfishing and pollution. If we have marine protected sanctuaries most of the marine resources will have the time to recover.
Dr Ngozi Oguguah, Chief Research Officer at the Nigerian Institute For Oceanography And Marine Research
Whenever we lose a species to extinction, the ecosystem gets out of balance, which could lead to big issues. That’s why it is so important to create protected areas on land and in the water where wildlife is safe.
The UN high seas treaty alone will not be able to stop climate change. But in conjunction with other global agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, it is a powerful tool in our fight to save the planet.
What’s Next?
While agreeing the UN high seas treaty was a historic milestone, this is only the first step. For the treaty to get implemented, it needs to be formally adopted by the UN at another session.
After that, the individual countries have to ratify the treaty through their own internal legal processes. Not all countries have to do so though for the treaty to enter into force.
There is a real delicate balance, if you don’t have enough states it won’t enter into force. But also need to get the states with enough money to get the impact. We are thinking around 40 states to get the whole thing into force.
Dr Simon Walmsley, Marine Chief Advisor of WWF UK
Once enough countries have ratified the treaty, they have to work on implementing and managing these measures. This is a crucial step for the success of the treaty.
So while there is still a long way to go, the first step has been taken to protect a big part of the world’s oceans.
