DOZENS of nations were set today to sign a historic treaty on protecting the high seas, seeking the quick enforcement of an accord designed to protect ecosystems vital to the planet.

The United Nations in July sealed the first high seas treaty after 15 years of discussion.

The start of signatures, during the annual UN General Assembly, “represents an important step to establishing meaningful protections”, said Nichola Clark of the Ocean Governance Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

“We begin a new chapter where the global community must take bold action in order to realise those protections, and ensure the ocean’s enormous reservoirs of biodiversity continue to provide benefits for ocean health and the communities across the globe that depend on it,” she said.

The text of the treaty was formally adopted by consensus even though Russia said parts of it were unacceptable.

The high seas start beyond countries’ exclusive economic zones, or 370km off coastlines – covering nearly half the planet.

Nonetheless, they had long been ignored in discussions on the environment.

A key tool in the treaty would be the ability to create protected marine areas in international waters – only around 1% of which are now protected by any sort of conservation measures.

The treaty was seen as crucial to an agreement to protect 30% of the world’s oceans and lands by 2030, as agreed by governments in a separate historic accord on biodiversity reached in Montreal in December.

‘Race to ratification’

The treaty will come into force 120 days after 60 countries ratify it.

The UN said more than 60 governments plan to initial the treaty from today, but formal ratification depended on each country’s own domestic process.

Mads Christensen, interim executive director of Greenpeace International, voiced hope the treaty would come into force in 2025, when the next UN oceans conference takes place in France.

“We have less than seven years to protect 30% of the oceans. There is no time to waste,” he said.

“The race to ratification has begun and we urge countries to be ambitious, ratify the treaty and make sure it enters into force in 2025.”

But even if the treaty draws the 60 ratifications needed to come into force, it would still be well below the universal support for action sought by environmental defenders.

Oceans are critical to limiting climate change by helping absorb greenhouse gas emissions.

The treaty, officially known as “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”, introduced requirements to perform environmental impact studies for proposed activities on the high seas.

Such activities, while not listed in the text, would include anything from fishing and maritime transport to more controversial pursuits such as deep-sea mining or geo-engineering programs aimed at fighting global warming. – AFP, September 20, 2023.