TREATY TO PROTECT BIODIVERSITY IN HIGH SEAS

Description

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Context: For the first time, United Nations (UN) members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas.

Details:

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 applies to nearly half the planet’s surface.
The treaty will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas.
It is critical to achieve the UN Biodiversity Conference’s pledge to protect 30% of the planet’s waters, as well as its land, for conservation.
This will be a binding agreement for the high seas, which until now have hardly been protected
The treaty also establishes ground rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in the oceans.
This treaty will help to knit together the different regional treaties to be able to address threats and concerns across species’ ranges.