Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, (EFE).- The professor of Ecology at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) Javier Arístegui has expressed his satisfaction with the agreement reached at the UN to protect the high seas and has highlighted the need to for countries to ratify it.
“The only way to protect biodiversity, not only aquatic but also terrestrial, is to expand the marine reserve areas,” the researcher at the ULPGC’s University Institute of Oceanography and Global Change told Efe.
In his opinion, “we will have to strike a balance between fishing and international rights, but it is a fantastic agreement that will allow the expansion of marine reserves into international waters.”
“We are really late in doing this,” according to Arístegui, but he believes that we still have time to take action to prevent further environmental deterioration.
We must restore coastal communities that have been degraded and better manage areas of deteriorated mangroves or marshes, essential for coastal areas, for example.
These are actions that have little cost and many benefits when it comes to protecting the planet’s diversity and increasing the carbon dioxide sequestration capacity of coastal communities.
“These are measures that must be done and that should have been done a long time ago, but better late than never,” in Arístegui’s opinion.
He also considers that the exploitation of marine resources in international waters will have to be regulated, “it is something that is open, and most of the marine resources are, unfortunately, in non-international waters.”
This allows many countries to exploit marine resources, such as China, under whose jurisdiction many of the mining areas in the sea are located, the expert stressed.
Therefore, it is essential that countries ratify the UN agreement to protect the high seas, “it is not binding, and if you do not want to comply, you do not comply.”
This happened, for example, when a moratorium on whaling was reached or with various agreements in the fight against climate change.
However, “this first step by the United Nations to create international marine reserves is a good step forward,” Arístegui assured. EFE