(United Nations) The Member States of the UN begin Monday two weeks of negotiations to finally try to give birth to a treaty to protect the high seas and avoid a new damage which would see moving away on the horizon the objective of preserve 30% of the planet by 2030.
The “last last”? After more than 15 years of informal and then formal discussions, this is the third time in less than a year that the negotiators have met in New York for what is supposed to be the last session.
But this time, at the dawn of two weeks of discussions until March 3, cautious optimism seems in order that this session will be the right one, encouraged by the historic agreement reached in December in Montreal during COP15 on the biodiversity.
All countries in the world then committed to protecting 30% of all land and oceans by 2030. A challenge that is almost insurmountable without including the high seas, of which only about 1% is protected today.
“We are optimistic that COP15 on Biodiversity has given governments the boost needed to get this deal across the finish line,” commented WWF’s Pepe Clarke.
The high seas begin where the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the States end, at a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coasts, and it is therefore not under the jurisdiction of any country.
Even though it represents more than 60% of the oceans and almost half of the planet, it has long been ignored, in favor of coastal areas and a few emblematic species.
Yet “there is only one ocean, and a healthy ocean means a healthy planet,” said AFP Nathalie Rey, of the High Seas Alliance, which brings together around forty NGOs.
Ocean ecosystems, threatened by climate change, pollution of all kinds and overfishing, produce in particular half of the oxygen we breathe and limit global warming by absorbing a significant part of CO2 emitted by human activities.
” Last chance ”
So despite the optimism displayed and the informal negotiations that have taken place since the last session in August to move things forward, ocean advocates are warning of a sinking.
“If they fail again, it challenges the process a bit,” Liz Karan, of the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts, told AFP.
“We have already exceeded the allotted time. These discussions are the last chance to succeed. Governments must not fail,” insisted Laura Meller of Greenpeace in a statement.
The draft text on the table, riddled with parentheses and multiple options, reflects the many contentious issues still at play.
The principle of creating marine protected areas is included in the mandate of this future treaty on “the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction”, but delegations are still divided on the process of creating these sanctuaries.
The methods of application of the obligation to evaluate the impact on the environment of activities envisaged on the high seas are not unanimous either.
And the distribution of the possible benefits resulting from the exploitation of the genetic resources of the high seas, where pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetic industries hope to discover miraculous molecules, is one of the most tense points.
Without being able to conduct this costly research, developing countries fear that they will miss out on potential benefits. And during the August session, observers accused rich countries, notably the EU, of waiting until the last minute to make a move.
To make the voice of ocean defenders heard around the world, American actress and activist Jane Fonda is due to deliver to conference president Rena Lee on Monday evening a petition of 5 million signatories demanding a “strong” treaty.
Because with this complex and vast treaty, which will also have to come to terms with other organizations which today have control over parts of the ocean, over fishing or the mining of the seabed, even if there has a deal, the devil is in the details, worry ocean advocates.