Delegates Come Close, But Fail Again to Clinch High Seas Protection Treaty

Elizabeth Fitt, Monga Bay Fisheries & Aquaculture

Delegates Come Close, But Fail Again to Clinch High Seas Protection Treaty
Matheo JBT, Unsplash

U.N. member states came tantalizingly close to sealing a deal for a high-stakes, legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, areas beyond national jurisdiction that comprise two-thirds of the global ocean. At the close of negotiations on Aug. 26 in New York, however, delegates had failed to net consensus. Top sticking points included fair access to marine resources for all and how to establish marine protected areas.

The meeting of 168 U.N. member states ended with a commitment to reconvene before the year is over.

“We’re closer to the finish line than we’ve ever been before but … we still need a little more time,” Rena Lee of Singapore, president of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, the body negotiating the treaty, said to delegates.

Read the full article here



Older Post Newer Post