Madrid (EFE).- Ten percent of the more than 230,000 known species that inhabit seas and oceans are in danger of extinction, warns the President of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in Spain, Carol Portabella, on the occasion of the commemoration , this Thursday 8, World Oceans Day.
In addition, it is estimated that another two million species are yet to be discovered, mostly in its depths, Portabella points out in an article for EFEverde.com from Agencia EFE in which he points to the exploration and conservation of these territories as pending subjects.
Not surprisingly, the oceans occupy 360 million square kilometers (71% of our planet’s surface), a space larger than all the continents combined, but barely 10% has been explored and less than 20% mapped, he points out.
Determining role of the oceans in the environmental balance
Capable of supplying 50% of the oxygen we breathe, the same as terrestrial plant masses (…) and absorbing 30% of the carbon dioxide we produce, the ocean plays a determining role in environmental balance and climate regulation , but also as a source of protein for three billion people, recalls Portabella.
“It is -he adds- an unexplored immensity, where until now only 1.2% is protected” that is why it will be essential that 60 countries ratify and adopt the High Seas Treaty, or “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”. Sea for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas located outside national jurisdiction”, approved last March.
It should be during the next United Nations Conference on the Oceans, which will take place in June 2025 in Nice, France, recalls the president of the FPA2 from Monaco in Spain.
An agreement, he highlights, that after five years of negotiations, includes the main challenges for the correct conservation and use of the resources of the High Seas, prioritizing the protection of the environment and marine biodiversity.
This treaty establishes management tools for new marine protected areas, the fair sharing of scientific or commercial benefits, sharing the benefits of marine genetic resources, implementing environmental impact reports for activities that may generate them, and the creation of a control body, details.
A legal framework that, he emphasizes, “will also prevent the practice of illegal activities such as piracy, uncontrolled fishing, the dumping of pollutants and other activities that endanger the future of the High Seas and therefore of the Ocean, and of our species”.
The complete text of Carol Portabella “Oceanic planet, the currents are changing” is available for reading and downloading at http://www.efeverde.com from Agencia EFE.