UN plans to adopt high seas protection treaty in June

The treaty on the high seas in 3 main points

From protected marine areas to environmental impact studies, the unprecedented high seas protection treaty, approved on Saturday (4) after long negotiations between UN members, provides for a series of instruments for the conservation of more than half of the oceans that They do not belong to any country. Understand the main points of this new preservation instrument. 🌊

However, the text was not formally adopted, as it had to be vetted by legal services and translated into the six official UN languages.

At the end of this work of “terminological coherence” and harmonization of the different linguistic versions, the resolution approved this Tuesday calls for calling a new meeting to adopt the agreement “at first, on June 19 and 20, 2023".

International waters begin where States' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) end, which extend up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast, and do not belong to any country.

Although they represent more than 60% of the oceans and around half of the planet, international waters have been ignored for a long time by the environmental agenda, overshadowed by coastal areas and some emblematic species.

Advances in science have demonstrated the importance of protecting these oceans, which have a rich biodiversity, often microscopic, provides half the oxygen we breathe and limits the global warming, by absorbing an important part of the CO2 emitted by human action.

However, the oceans are becoming fragile, victims of these emissions (heating, water acidification, etc.), pollution of all types and excessive fishing.

The future treaty should allow the creation of maritime protection reserves in these international waters, of which only 1% are currently subject to conservation measures.

The treaty also provides for the obligation to carry out environmental impact studies before carrying out activities on the high seas, such as mining.

(With AFP)

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