United Nations (EFE) save the oceans.
The text, which was closed after a long negotiation process last March, was formally approved today after its review and translation into the six official languages of the United Nations.
The adoption took place by consensus, without the need for a vote, and was met with a standing ovation by the government representatives, who celebrated the conclusion of this long process standing up.
“The ocean is the lifeblood of our planet and today you have breathed new life into it and given the ocean a chance. They have delivered and they have done so at a critical time,” UN Secretary General António Guterres told delegates.
Guterres stressed that this “historic agreement” shows that the international community is capable of coming together to respond in a common way to the great global problems and that the “spirit of international cooperation is still alive.”
Pending ratifications
Although today’s decision ends negotiations at the UN, the new treaty will not enter into force until at least 60 countries have signed and ratified it.
The text will be opened for signature at the United Nations headquarters from next September 20 and Guterres already asked the governments today not to delay in the slightest.
“This is critical to responding to the threats facing the ocean and to the success of the ocean-related goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Kuming-Montreal Ecological Diversity Framework,” he said.
A key instrument for the oceans
Environmental groups have insisted for years that this treaty is vital to save the oceans, threatened by pollution, the climate crisis and new technologies that open the door to mining at the bottom of the seas and more intensive fishing.
The high seas -the waters located more than 200 nautical miles from the coast and which are shared by all countries- account for two thirds of the total oceans and until now have been managed under a series of agreements and international organizations without a clear jurisdiction, without much coordination and with inadequate regulations for their protection.
The new treaty will be established within the framework of the existing United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and seeks to “ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”
Among other things, the text lays the foundations for the establishment of marine protected areas, which should make it easier to fulfill the international promise to safeguard at least 30% of the oceans by the year 2030.
In addition, it ensures that the environmental impact of activities in international waters is taken into account and facilitates cooperation between countries in marine technology.
It also creates a framework for sharing the benefits of the sea, especially everything related to marine genetic resources – species that may provide patentable genes in the future, for example for use in medicine.
On this issue, the interests of some rich countries, which are the ones with the greatest capacity to take advantage of these advances, and those of the developing world, which fears being excluded, collided, and it was one of the last issues that were closed in the marathon negotiations last March.