High Seas Treaty - hope for marine life

Two-thirds of the world's oceans lying beyond 200 nautical miles from the exclusive economic zones ("EEZ") of coastal countries are referred to as international waters or the 'high seas'. Although many marine protected areas (MPAs) have been designated within countries' EEZs, only about 1% of the high seas has currently been designated as MPAs or Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). The lack of protection over these areas of water has led to overfishing and pollution, the two foremost causes identified for the extinction or near extinction of 10% of marine species in our oceans.?

On 4 March 2023 in New York, after nearly two decades of talk, 190 UN member states finally reached agreement on the text of the UN's?High Seas Treaty. This treaty will put 30% of the high seas into MPAs. The treaty will also provide the legal framework for:

• the access, use and sharing of marine genetic resources; and
• introduce requirements for environmental impact assessments (EIA) for deep sea activities such as mining.

At the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal at the end of last year, an?agreement?was reached to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030 (the 30x30 target). The High Seas Treaty will assist in the attainment of that goal as well as goals and targets set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.?

Many issues remain to be worked out such as determining who will police the protection of the MPAs and the dispute resolution provisions to be included in the treaty. The treaty will enter into force once 60 countries have ratified it, though there is little indication of how long this might take. Once ratified, participating nations can begin proposing new marine protected areas, which will need to be individually approved.??

The IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention took a decade to ratify, principally because it was adopted long before the required technology was available to manage the problem. The High Seas Treaty is more likely to be impacted by politics and the interests of developing nations and the companies that exploit the seas for commercial reasons.??The signing of the treaty is also likely to see debate over the merits of open-loop scrubbers re-opened. These systems, which discharge wash water to an agreed standard were introduced in the run-up to the 2020 global sulphur cap. They have had a positive impact on airborne emissions, but their potential effect on the sea has caused controversy.?

Academic studies point to an increase in carcinogenic and environmentally harmful substances found in the Baltic Sea since open loop scrubbers were permitted.??

The study also revealed that ships painted with copper-based antifouling paints account for a third of the total supply of copper to the Baltic Sea. Copper in antifouling paints is already a known environmental problem as the metal cannot be degraded in the environment and therefore leads to high levels in water, sediment, and soil.

Let's wait and see how this plays out, i hope not the way BWTS convention is going....