Sayeed Muhammad: The UN member states are going to start long-awaited talks today, on a 2020 treaty that would regulate the high seas, which cover half the planet yet lack adequate environmental protection.
Four sessions of the dialogues, each lasting two weeks, are planned to take place spanning over two years, with the goal of protecting marine biodiversity and avoiding further pillaging of the oceans, reports AFP.
“The negotiations will relate to spaces beyond national jurisdictions, or areas that belong to no country in particular,” said Julien Rochette of the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI).
The IDDRI is a Paris-based think tank, with the talks expected to focus on “the high seas and the international zone of marine waters, or about 46 percent of the planet’s surface.”
In 1982, the UN adopted the Convention on the Law of the Sea, but left the high seas free from restrictions. “All States enjoy the traditional freedoms of navigation, overflight, scientific research and fishing on the high seas,” it said.
The convention took effect in 1994, without the participation of the US and since then, shipping routes have expanded considerably, and the resources of the ocean deep have aroused significant interest, whether by fishing or mineral extraction.
“Marine life is already reeling from the impact of industrial fishing, climate change and other extractive industries. We have a shared responsibility to protect our global oceans before it is too late,” said Sandra Schoettner, a marine biologist with Greenpeace.
Talks will focus on creating protected areas on the high seas, more sharing of maritime resources and technology, and research on environmental impacts.
Some whale-hunting nations, like Japan, Iceland and Norway, are expected to be more cautious than others because they fear overly strict fishing restrictions.
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