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https://theconversation.com/most-of-the-world-just-agreed-on-something-a-new-treaty-to-protect-our-oceans-273500>
"In a moment being celebrated by global marine conservationists, a new UN high
seas treaty comes into force on January 17 providing a new way to govern the
world’s oceans.
Formally known as the
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, it
will allow for the creation of protected areas in international waters, like
national parks. It will also set out ways of sharing genetic materials from the
high seas – and any future profits derived from them.
Agreed in June 2023, the treaty enters into force after Morocco became the 60th
country to ratify it in September. Since then it has been ratified by a further
21 countries, and signed by another 64 who are committed to doing so. There are
some notable absences. Russia has not signed the treaty. The US signed it in
2023 under the Biden administration, but has not ratified it.
The treaty has some grey areas – notably its powers to regulating fishing in
international waters. It also won’t be able to regulate mining on the seabed,
something already covered by the International Seabed Authority.
Yet, at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, this is a rare moment when
most of the world has come together in agreement to try and protect our oceans.
In this episode of
The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Callum
Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of Exeter in the
UK, about how the treaty came to be and the challenges now facing its
implementation.
“I think that the high seas treaty will be breaking new ground for
international regulation because at the moment what we have doesn’t do the job
effectively,” says Roberts, adding that “this will be a test of our ability to
move in a cooperative direction.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
