UN Ocean Treaty approved after years of negotiations



03/06/2023 10:17 AM


A historic treaty to safeguard the oceans has been approved by more than a hundred nations, and 30 percent of the ocean will be protected by 2030. According to the BBC, it took more than a decade of discussions to finally come to an accord.



Christopher Michel
The treaty resulted from negotiations at the UN headquarters in New York, which took place on March 3 and spanned 38 hours. There will be limitations on deep-sea mining, shipping, and other forms of exploration in the protected regions.

Any action on the deep seabed will be subject to stringent environmental regulations and oversight to ensure that it is carried out responsibly, the International Seabed Authority specifically stated.

The prior international treaty to safeguard the oceans was signed in 1982, forty years ago. By 2030, 30 percent of the water should be protected, according to a proposal made by the World Conservation Congress in 2016. Following a UN meeting on biodiversity, this objective was formally stated in an agreement in December 2022. Only 10% of the world's oceans are presently protected, according to the UN.

source: bbc.com

 


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