Protecting the Oceans

 The UN has failed to agree on a treaty to protect the high seas from exploitation. Despite two decades of discussion, there is still no treaty protecting international waters. 

Scientists, environmentalists and conservation organisations blaming states that were “dragging their feet” for the “glacial pace” of talks.

Currently, a patchwork of international bodies and treaties manage resources and human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – including fishing, whaling, shipping and seabed mining. Some countries, including Russia and Iceland, have called for fisheries to be excluded from the agreement.

Dr Essam Mohammed, Eritrea’s representative in the negotiations and interim director general of WorldFish, a non-profit research institute, said: “At the moment, there is a governance vacuum in the high seas, and for the ocean and developing countries, the status quo simply isn’t an option.” Swiftly advancing marine technology would lead to “an unprecedented race for marine resources in unregulated waters”, Mohammed said. “The delay in striking a deal means high risk for the health of the ocean. “All member states of the UN need to recognise the urgency to save the ocean and the people who depend on it to survive,” he said.

Prof Alex Rogers, a marine ecologist and science director of the non-profit company REV Ocean, said: “There are states here that are dragging their feet and deliberately prolonging the treaty talks. But we know the ocean is being degraded and is losing biodiversity. Climate is also having an impact on the ocean. The longer these negotiations are strung out, the more biodiversity we lose.”

Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace, who attended last week’s talks, said negotiators spent “hours and hours” on non-contentious sentences.

UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks | Environment | The Guardian