The UN H i gh Seas Tr eaty

After years of talks and negotiations,the UN signed the High Seas Treaty,which aims to protect an extra 30% of the oceans by 2030.As one of the very few agreements that makes an effort to protect global seas,the other being the UN Convention on the Law and Sea,this agreement marks a vital step in the efforts to protect the ocean and specifically,the marine life residing in the high seas.

Countries have jurisdiction out to 200 nautical miles off of their own shores.The area past that is known as the high seas and is virtually lawless and unprotected.The High Seas make up around ? of the world's ocean,and around half of the Earth's surface.It is hard to imagine how such a vast area has gone unprotected for so long;until recently,only 1.2%of the high seas was monitored,and the consequences of this are starting to show.

Marine life living in these unprotected areas are at higher risk of shipping traffic, climate change,and overfishing,with no previous laws to regulate them.As a result around 10%of all marine animals are at risk for extinction.This new UN agreement will start to put limits on the amount of fishing that can be done.It also will monitor the deep-sea fishing routes and deep-sea mining activities.

The treaty will also make an effort to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the high seas.MPAs work to limit human interactions within a given area.Previously,there were no MPAs in the high seas, but now countries have the ability to vote about certain areas to protect.The treaty does allow current research projects to continue,but researchers must announce to the public their plan and path.This also has the benefit of encouraging scientists from lower income countries to join in on research projects.

A big concern that held up the talks was the royalties from marine genetic resources (MGR).MGRs refer to the biological matter of marine plants and animals and their potential to become resources for providing insight into new lifesaving advancements.Undoubtedly, the ocean provides humans with vital resources like food and oxygen,but the scientific advancements made from studying marine animals are also vital to medicine and other industrial processes.

Like many other aspects, first world countries have a head start when it comes to gathering these important genetic resources.A large part of the negotiation was the argument that developing countries who don't yet have the ability to harvest MGRs should also be able to reap the benefits if the resource was found close to their shoreline. Delegates from the developing countries and first nations agreed that the resources found would be ?shared in a fair and equitable manner.? The treaty also established a ?benefit-sharing committee? which would be composed of 15 experts nominated by the UN.This attempts to guarantee the access of all countries to the benefits the deep-sea organism can offer.

Scientists across the globe seem to be pleased with the outcome of the treaty. However,the process to sign was long and complicated. Delegates from across the world extended their trips and worked for days to guarantee an agreement that would begin to protect the vital limited resources of the high seas.The final session lasted 38 hours and ended 4 days after the agreement was supposed to be signed. Thanks to the scientists and delegates that worked to pass this treaty,there are now laws in place protecting marine organisms in the high seas. There are still many undiscovered organisms residing in the ocean and it is extremely important to protect their habitat so that we are able to learn more about them.