High seas on UN agenda, tons of fish killed by toxic substance and +

🌊 High seas on the agenda at the UN

From August 15th to 26th, representatives from governments around the world will meet at the United Nations in New York to finalize a new treaty that aims to protect the high seas – a vital resource that represents almost half of our planet.

The high seas – legally known as “marine areas beyond national jurisdiction” – suffers from the absence or fragility of a regulatory framework to protect its waters.

Two hundred nautical miles beyond the territorial waters and jurisdiction of nations, the high seas have been treated “recklessly”, according to environmental groupssystem. (The Guardian*)

Experts have already demonstrated the need to protect ocean ecosystems as a whole, as they produce half of the oxygen that humans breathe and mitigate the global warming, absorbing carbon dioxide.

The bodies created to control activities such as fishing focused more on the exploitation of resources than on protecting the oceans. Therefore, the current legal architecture does not protect the high seas and all of its biodiversity.

This new treaty seeks fill existing gaps, ensuring the sustainability of ocean governance, as well as their good healthsystem. (Le Monde*)

🐟 Thousands of fish appear dead on the Polish-German border

A toxic substance – not yet identified – caused the death of thousands of fish in the Oder River, located on the Polish border with Germany.

An initial analysis showed evidence of synthetic chemical drugs, most likely with deadly effects on vertebrates.

According to information from the Ministry of the Environment of the German state of Brandenburg, It is still unclear how the substance ended up in the river, but it is believed to be the cause of the death of tons of fish since the end of July.system. (One Planet)

🔥 Fires in Europe are equivalent to 1/5 of Belgium

Data European Forest Fire Information System (Effis*) point out that – across Europe – an area equivalent to a fifth of Belgium has been devastated by flames, while successive heat waves and a historic drought push the continent towards what experts say will be a record year of destruction by forest fires .

According to Effis, 659.541 hectares (1,6 million acres) of land burned across the European continent between January and mid-August – the highest record at this time of year since recording began in 2006.

“The situation of drought and extremely high temperatures has affected the whole of Europe this year and the general situation in the region is worrying, while we are still in the middle of the fire season”, said Effis coordinator, Jesús San-Miguel, to The Guardian*.

So far Spain has been the hardest hit country, losing 244.924 hectares, followed by Romania (150.528) and Portugal (77.292) 

Curto Verde is a daily summary of what you need to know about the environment, sustainability and other topics linked to our survival and that of the planet.

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