The so-called ‘High Seas Treaty’ would allow for the creation of marine protected areas in the high seas and help meet a global commitment to protect biodiversity in 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030
A landmark marine treaty is good news for the world’s oceans, but many details remain to be ironed out, including how potential wealth derived from ocean sources can be more equitably shared and how protected areas can be monitored to ensure they are more than mere lines on a map, ocean researchers and advocacy groups say.
The treaty would also put more money into marine conservation and regulate access to and use of marine genetic resources. Those include sponges, algae or other marine life, which can be used to produce medicines, cosmetics or other substances. Rashid Sumaila, a fisheries economist at the University of British Columbia, said the treaty reflects growing recognition of the potential uses of marine resources in manufacturing, fashion and pharmaceuticals, as well as the need for international co-operation to safeguard ocean ecosystems.
The new treaty does not contemplate a ban on high-seas fishing, but would create marine protected areas, something Dr. Sumaila considers a win. Marine protected areas generally include restrictions on activities such as fishing and shipping. “It’s more likely to happen. But will it really happen? The practicality is still a problem, in ensuring that goal of sharing,” he said.“The clock is still ticking to deliver 30 by 30,” Laura Meller, an oceans campaigner with Greenpeace Nordic, said in a statement. She was referencing COP15, a biodiversity conference held in December in Montreal that ended with a milestone agreement to protect 30 per cent of the planet from biodiversity loss by 2030.
In a joint statement in February, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray effectively put a moratorium on deep-sea mining in Canadian territorial waters. They said Canada does not currently have a domestic legal framework that would permit that type of mining, and that the country would not authorize it in the absence of regulation.
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Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seasFor the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas -- nearly half the planet's surface -- concluding two weeks of talks in New York.
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United Nations members reach accord to protect marine life on high seas | CBC NewsFor the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas — nearly half the planet's surface — concluding two weeks of talks in New York.
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Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seasFor the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas, representing a turning point in a years-long effort to bestow order on vast stretches of the planet where conservation has previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws.
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