Treaty on High Seas
Context:
- This Monday, the UN member states approved a historic convention for safeguarding marine life in international waters that are outside of any country’s jurisdiction, bringing more than ten years of discussions to an end. The high seas make up about two-thirds of the world’s oceans.
- After protracted deliberations, a “breakthrough” was reached at the UN-led Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) in New York. Dealing with the global issues of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change will require the pact. The pact has not yet been completely approved because members have not ratified it.
About the high seas:
- The high seas are those parts of the ocean that are outside a nation’s territorial or internal waters, as defined by the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas. It is the area outside of a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to a point at which a country has authority over both living and non-living resources. The EEZ can extend up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the shore.
- No nation is solely responsible for the management and protection of resources in the high seas. The high seas, which make up more than 60% of the world’s oceans and about half of the planet’s surface, are a key hub for marine life. They are home to over 2.7 lakh recognised species, many of which have yet to be discovered.
- Because they control climate, are critical to maintaining planetary stability by absorbing carbon, mitigate the effects of climate change by storing solar energy, and distribute heat around the world, the high seas are crucial to human survival and well-being.
- Also, a wide range of resources and services are provided by the ocean, including raw materials and seafood, genetic and medical resources, air purification, climate management, and services in the fields of art, science, and culture.
- But, the fact that these oceans are absorbing heat from the atmosphere, being affected by natural disasters like the El Nino, and growing more acidic all pose a threat to marine life. Thousands of marine species could go extinct by 2100 if current trends in warming and acidity continue.
Anthropogenic factors on the high seas include the following:
- sounds from mining the seafloor. The best was this. The was this. The was this. The was this. These included overfishing, the introduction of exotic species, the dumping of rubbish without treatment (including antibiotics), and coastal contamination.
Keeping marine biodiversity:
- After climate change and global warming became recognised as serious challenges, a global legal framework was needed to protect the oceans and marine life. The UNGA decided in 2015 that a legally enforceable document should be produced under UNCLOS. The IGC was then summoned to convene so that a legal document pertaining to BBNJ could be drafted. The European Union (EU) created the High Ambition Coalition on BBNJ in 2022 to speed the agreement’s conclusion.
- Governments pledged to protect 30% of seas by 2030 as part of the historic “30 x 30 pledge” made by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at the most recent UN Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15 of UN-CBD).
What the “High Seas Treaty” is like:
- The draught agreement for the treaty recognises the need to address biodiversity loss and the degrading state of ocean ecosystems and proposes rules to protect seas beyond national borders while taking into account the sustainable use of their resources. It places “30% of the world’s seas into protected areas, puts more money into marine conservation and covers access to and use of marine genetic resources,” as per the United Nations.
- A marine protected area (MPA) is defined as a “geographically defined marine area that is designated and administered and may enable, where appropriate, sustainable use provided it is consistent with the conservation objectives” in order to meet certain long-term biodiversity conservation goals.
Key components include:
- An important factor to take into account is how underdeveloped countries might have access to benefits from the commercialization of resources (especially genetic resources) extracted from the ocean. The accord agreed to establish an access- and benefit-sharing committee in order to set rules.
- In high seas regions, actions involving marine genetic resources should be advantageous to humanity and in the best interests of all States. They must only be used for peaceful purposes.
- Signatories will have to finish environmental impact studies before using maritime resources.
- It stipulates that access to marine resources owned by indigenous people and local communities in areas outside of national jurisdiction is only permissible with their “free, prior, and informed permission or approval and engagement”.
- In areas outside of its borders, no State may claim ownership of marine genetic resources.
- Members are required to provide information to the clearing-house mechanism (CHM), which was created as part of the treaty, on the allocation of funds to help poor states implement the treaty, the objective of the research, the area of the collection, the sponsors’ identities, etc. The amount of money that will go into the special fund will be decided at the conference of parties, which will be held in accordance with the agreement. The parties’ conference shall also monitor the execution of the Agreement.
Conclusion:
- The high seas are one of the least protected areas because to the catastrophic situation; only about 1% of them are protected. Now is the time to change it.
