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The UN deal will see large-scale marine protected areas established to tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change and prevent biodiversity loss across the world’s high seas.
“The ship has reached the shore.” These were the words of Intergovernmental Conference president Rena Lee when the historic deal to protect ocean areas outside of national borders was finally agreed on Saturday (4 March). It is a crucial step towards achieving the UN goal of protecting 30pc of the world’s oceans by 2030.
After almost two decades of negotiations, the UN deal agreed at the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) will see large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) established to tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change and prevent biodiversity loss across the world’s high seas (areas of ocean outside of national boundaries).
As part of this, all activities on the high seas will require environmental impact assessments, and fishing, shipping lanes and sea bed mining will all face new restrictions.
Countries agreed to come together to share marine genetic resources including deep sea minerals, krill, corals, seaweeds and bacteria due to their value for medicines and cosmetics.
This is a landmark agreement that is necessary to meet global commitments agreed at the UN biodiversity conference last December.
UN secretary-general António Guterres described the agreement as “a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come.
“It is crucial for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.”
Guterres said he looks forward to “working with all parties to secure a healthier, more resilient and more productive ocean, benefiting current and future generations.”
What’s next?
The agreement needs to be ratified by UN member states in order for it to come into force.
In a statement, the EU pledged to work hard to ensure the treaty is implemented rapidly and pledged €40m to achieve this.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, described the agreement as a “historic moment for our oceans”.
“Today marks the culmination of more than a decade of preparatory work and international negotiations in which the EU played a key role.”
Crucial to the success of the agreement is that rich countries will support developing countries to implement the treaty. The EU has pledged €816.5m to protect the oceans through various commitments. However, no exact funding amount was included in the treaty, and this may cause issues when it comes to its ratification.
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