(United Nations) The treaty to protect the high seas is “only too long overdue”, lamented Thursday the UN secretary general, while a new session of negotiations to give birth to this crucial agreement for the oceans is now scheduled for early 2023.
At a special session of the UN General Assembly to mark the 40e anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Antonio Guterres underlined the “disastrous situation” of the oceans.
“Today, 35% of the world’s fisheries are overexploited. The sea level is rising. The ocean is acidifying and suffocating due to pollution. Coral reefs, essential to life, are bleaching and dying,” he said, calling for “more ambition” to protect the oceans and all who depend on them.
Among the protection tools, the treaty on “the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction”, which has been under discussion for fifteen years.
The text aims to protect the high seas, where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the States end, at a maximum of 200 nautical miles from the coast. A vast area long ignored, but which represents 60% of the oceans and conceals treasures of biodiversity
After an impossibility to conclude during what should be the last round of negotiations in March, a catch-up session in August had also failed.
A new meeting, which has yet to be formally approved by the UN General Assembly, is now scheduled in New York from February 20 to March 3, 2023, according to the dates published Thursday on the conference website.
This long-overdue instrument is critical to restoring ocean health, resilience and productivity.
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General
“We were very close to an agreement during the last session in August […]. Now more than ever, we need to show flexibility to achieve our common goal: an ambitious, universal, effective, inclusive, fair, balanced and future-proof treaty,” said the EU Ambassador. Olof Skoog.
This treaty, which excludes the seabed and its mineral resources covered by another agreement, concerns in particular the creation of marine protected areas, the carrying out of environmental impact studies and the distribution of possible profits resulting from the exploitation of resources. genetics of the high seas.
“An agreement is needed, now more than ever, if we want to ensure a sustainable future for our oceans,” Liz Karan, of the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts, told AFP on Thursday.