U.N. agrees on landmark treaty to protect marine life

[Judi Lynn]

JUSTIN KLAWANS



Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images

The United Nations on Saturday reached a historic treaty to protect marine life and biodiversity in the world's oceans. The agreement marks a long-awaited milestone in a years-long effort to safeguard the planet's seas.

Called the High Seas Treaty, the U.N. said that the new framework "would place 30 percent of the world's oceans into protected areas, put more money into marine conservation, and covers access to and use of marine genetic resources." CNN noted that the high seas — every area that lies 200 nautical miles beyond a nation's territorial waters — are often called "the world's last true wilderness." The high seas make up more than 60 percent of the world's oceans, and efforts to protect the areas have been longwinded.

BBC News added that the treaty will "put limits on how much fishing can take place, the routes of shipping lanes and exploration activities like deep-sea mining."

The first international legislation to protect the oceans, called the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, was penned in 1982, and its provisions were updated in 1994. Efforts to re-hash these protections have been repeatedly stalled over the last few decades, though, The Associated Press reported, mainly due to disagreements within the U.N. over funding and protections for the fishing industry.

More:
https://theweek.com/environmental-news/1021537/un-agrees-on-landmark-treaty-to-protect-marine-life

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Judi Lynn

[SheltieLover]

2. Long overdue!

Ty!

[Duppers]

4. Indeed! 👍

My first thought too.

K&R for this thread.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas

By CHRISTINA LARSON and PATRICK WHITTLE
yesterday

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas - representing a turning point for vast stretches of the planet where conservation has previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws.

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force in 1994, before marine biodiversity was a well-established concept. The treaty agreement concluded two weeks of talks in New York.

An updated framework to protect marine life in the regions outside national boundary waters, known as the high seas, had been in discussions for more than 20 years, but previous efforts to reach an agreement had repeatedly stalled. The unified agreement treaty, which applies to nearly half the planet’s surface, was reached late Saturday.

“We only really have two major global commons — the atmosphere and the oceans,” said Georgetown marine biologist Rebecca Helm. While the oceans may draw less attention, “protecting this half of earth’s surface is absolutely critical to the health of our planet.”

More:
https://apnews.com/article/un-oceans-biodiversity-treaty-0b024fa07e8c1947236d8b8491ebf92c