High Seas Treaty paves the way for ocean protection

euronews (in English)

Just 1% of the high seas are protected — a far cry from the global goal to safeguard 30% of our oceans and seas by 2030. A year on from the High Seas Agreement's wrap-up at the United Nations, how much progress has been made in protecting ocean life from the expanding high sea industries?

Transcript

00:00 National boundaries at sea are invisible.

00:04 But for marine animals swimming across them, it can be a matter of life or death.

00:09 This month, scientists on a Greenpeace vessel conducted a study around the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

00:15 They discovered that biodiversity in these vast protected areas is thriving.

00:20 But safety is a concern in the international waters nearby.

00:26 East of the Galapagos archipelago, migratory species have to cross an area open to industrial fishing,

00:32 which isn't regulated by any national laws.

00:34 In this region, as in others worldwide, the high seas are facing a rising tide of human activity.

00:40 With new industry, such as things like deep water mining and unsustainable fishing practices,

00:46 what we're particularly kind of concerned about is that these areas are particularly susceptible.

00:52 This is a danger, but without actually having some kind of recognition of this kind of incredible diversity,

00:58 we may lose it before we can even get a chance to recognize, appreciate and protect it.

01:03 Until now, nations have struggled to designate conservation sites outside their own exclusive economic zones.

01:10 But activists are hopeful that a new international treaty will change this,

01:14 allowing for the protection of ocean areas beyond national jurisdictions.

01:18 [Music]

01:39 The goal is to remove destructive activities like intense fishing and heavy maritime traffic

01:45 from delegate ecosystems and migratory paths.

01:48 The sharks are going to do what the sharks are going to do, the turtles are going to do what they're going to do.

01:52 It's up to us to accommodate for them.

01:54 The idea is to find the best solution that accommodates them

01:58 with the minimum impact on obviously different sectors and their economic activities.

02:05 For a long time, the idea of protecting high seas seemed unrealistic.

02:09 Covering half of the planet's surface, international waters are managed by a wide range of organizations.

02:15 Each one focuses on specific regions or activities.

02:18 None of these groups have the authority to ensure the conservation of ocean biodiversity.

02:24 Recent studies suggest that protecting key areas of the high seas, as highlighted here,

02:30 could restore ocean health with minimal impact on the fishing industry.

02:35 But conservation efforts must consider all offshore activities,

02:39 including global shipping traffic, crossing sensitive locations.

02:43 Protecting the ocean while maintaining our interconnected economies is a challenging task.

02:49 It took more than 15 years of discussions at the United Nations

02:54 before delegates reached a historic agreement to protect marine biodiversity

02:58 in international waters in March 2023.

03:02 Ladies and gentlemen,

03:08 the ship has reached the shore.

03:13 The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions Agreement,

03:20 also known as the Treaty of the High Seas, doesn't create new protected areas,

03:24 however, contains a legal framework for nations to do so.

03:27 The treaty has been signed by 88 parties, including the European Union and all its member states,

03:32 as well as China and the US.

03:34 What we have with the High Seas Treaty is, for the first time,

03:38 the ability to protect two-thirds of the global ocean.

03:43 We have the ability to comprehensively assess potentially harmful impacts on the ocean

03:51 and its precious resources.

03:53 And for the first time, we have the ability to ensure that the benefits

03:59 and the access to those resources are equitably and fairly shared.

04:04 The treaty will not become effective until at least 60 states ratify it.

04:08 Mina Epps, director of the ocean team at the International Union for Conservation of Nature,

04:12 believes that the signatory countries want to see this treaty implemented.

04:20 That will is really there, so now it's a matter of how can we help the countries,

04:25 how can we help by providing, building the capacity, raising awareness,

04:29 and also I think there are some question marks from also the global south,

04:33 thinking about what is it going to cost to implement, what's the burden, etc.

04:37 At the same time, in parallel, we also need to build the institutional mechanism to support it.

04:42 The Monaco Blue Initiative is one of the global platforms that allows experts

04:47 and decision makers discuss how to implement the treaty once it becomes effective.

04:51 At this year's forum, the Seychelles announced the ratification,

04:55 joining Chile and Palau as the only countries to do so thus far.

04:59 For many coastal nations, their economies and food security hinge on the health of high-sea ecosystems.

05:06 The high seas are remote, the open ocean, but it's completely relevant to life in the coastal seas,

05:14 to the health of coral reefs and to fish stocks and fishing communities.

05:18 So if we don't manage the high seas, we can break those connections,

05:22 and so the fisheries can collapse in coastal seas.

05:25 If we do protect the high seas effectively, then we can really maintain the resilience

05:30 and the robustness of the fish stocks, and therefore also the livelihoods dependent on them.

05:34 Many questions about the practical implementation of the agreement still remain.

05:39 Achieving consensus among nations with diverse economic interests is challenging.

05:44 It is so much easier to protect anything within a country's waters,

05:47 because you are dealing with one government, right?

05:49 The high seas is a little bit like the Wild West.

05:53 It is going to be very challenging, because even though there is a UN process,

05:58 a legal instrument for countries to agree to protect areas,

06:02 of course we know that some countries are going to oppose to anything

06:07 that prevents their fishing, unaccounted, unregulated, everywhere they want.

06:13 A pressing issue is funding.

06:17 A global biodiversity target aims to protect at least 30% of marine life by 2030.

06:22 Enforcing this will require substantial budgets,

06:25 with costs and responsibilities shared fairly among state and possibly even non-state actors.

06:33 Who is going to pay to protect nature? Is it you? Is it me?

06:37 We have to think and put in place mechanisms to finance the protection of the high seas.

06:44 It is quite counter-intuitive, but a marine area protected in the high seas

06:52 allows fish stocks to revive and therefore fishermen to develop their economic activities.

06:57 We consider that the ratio is 10, meaning that 1 dollar invested in the high seas

07:01 generates 10 dollars of return on investment.

07:04 The European Union, which brokered the high seas agreement,

07:07 views it as a manifestation of its commitment to sustainable development

07:11 and the equitable sharing of marine resources.

07:14 Now we need to push ourselves into the ratification,

07:19 and we are quite ahead in our EU procedure.

07:22 I really hope that we will do it as soon as possible.

07:25 Our member states as well.

07:27 And be mindful, we need 60 signatures.

07:31 Almost half of them can come from the European Union.

07:35 So we are committed to do it as soon as possible.

07:38 Supporters of the treaty are advocating for it to be implemented by 2025,

07:44 even though there are concerns about generating enough approval in time.

07:48 But researchers remind us that with many marine species facing extinction,

07:52 the ocean cannot wait.

07:54 [Music]

07:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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