This is the first international treaty to protect biodiversity and regulate the sharing of resources, in this space which covers almost half of the surface of the planet.
They finally agreed. UN member states found common ground on Saturday, March 4, on the first international treaty to protect the high seas, intended to counter the threats to ecosystems vital to humanity. “The ship has reached the shore”Conference President Rena Lee announced at UN headquarters in New York on Saturday to prolonged applause from delegates.
>> Biodiversity, resources, climate… The challenges of the treaty on the protection of the high seas, negotiated at the United Nations
In total, more than 15 years of bitter discussions were necessary on the subject. Ilong ignored in the environmental fight, thehe high seas, which represent half of the planet’s surface, begin where the countries’ exclusive economic zones end (ie at a maximum of 370 km from the coast). It is therefore not under the jurisdiction of any State.
After four years of formal negotiations, the third “last” session in New York was finally the right one… or almost. Delegates finalized the text, but it still needs to be formally adopted at a later date after it has been vetted by legal services and translated to be available in the six official UN languages.
Text can no longer be edited
Nevertheless, after two weeks of intense discussions, including a marathon session on the night of Friday to Saturday, the delegates finalized a text which can no longer be changed in any significant way. “There will be no reopening or substantive discussions” on this file, assured Rena Lee to the negotiators.
The exact content of the text was not immediately released, but activists hailed it as a watershed moment for biodiversity protection. “It is a historic day for conservation, and a sign that, in a divided world, the protection of nature and people can triumph over geopolitics”said Laura Meller, a member of Greenpeace.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated the delegates, according to a spokesperson: this agreement is a “victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends that threaten the health of the oceans, today and for generations to come”. For his part, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevicius, said to himself “very proud” of the Treaty, welcoming Sunday “a historic moment for our oceans”.