The Fort Worth Press - Fresh hopes for landmark treaty to rescue ocean life

USD -
AED 3.673042
AFN 68.112673
ALL 94.198378
AMD 389.366092
ANG 1.801814
AOA 913.000367
ARS 1003.850089
AUD 1.538462
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.877057
BBD 2.018523
BDT 119.468305
BGN 1.877115
BHD 0.376794
BIF 2953.116752
BMD 1
BND 1.347473
BOB 6.908201
BRL 5.801041
BSD 0.99976
BTN 84.384759
BWP 13.658045
BYN 3.27175
BYR 19600
BZD 2.015164
CAD 1.39805
CDF 2871.000362
CHF 0.893615
CLF 0.035758
CLP 977.925332
CNY 7.243041
CNH 7.25914
COP 4389.749988
CRC 509.237487
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.825615
CZK 24.326204
DJF 178.031575
DKK 7.158304
DOP 60.252411
DZD 134.27504
EGP 49.650175
ERN 15
ETB 122.388982
EUR 0.95985
FJD 2.27595
FKP 0.789317
GBP 0.798085
GEL 2.740391
GGP 0.789317
GHS 15.795384
GIP 0.789317
GMD 71.000355
GNF 8617.496041
GTQ 7.717261
GYD 209.15591
HKD 7.78445
HNL 25.264168
HRK 7.133259
HTG 131.234704
HUF 395.000354
IDR 15943.55
ILS 3.70204
IMP 0.789317
INR 84.43625
IQD 1309.659773
IRR 42075.000352
ISK 139.680386
JEP 0.789317
JMD 159.268679
JOD 0.709104
JPY 154.770385
KES 129.468784
KGS 86.503799
KHR 4025.145161
KMF 472.503794
KPW 899.999621
KRW 1404.510383
KWD 0.30785
KYD 0.833149
KZT 499.179423
LAK 21959.786938
LBP 89526.368828
LKR 290.973655
LRD 180.450118
LSL 18.040693
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.882192
MAD 10.057392
MDL 18.23504
MGA 4666.25078
MKD 59.052738
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999946
MOP 8.015644
MRU 39.77926
MUR 46.850378
MVR 15.460378
MWK 1733.576467
MXN 20.428504
MYR 4.468039
MZN 63.910377
NAD 18.040693
NGN 1696.703725
NIO 36.786794
NOK 11.072604
NPR 135.016076
NZD 1.714237
OMR 0.385039
PAB 0.99976
PEN 3.790969
PGK 4.025145
PHP 58.939038
PKR 277.626662
PLN 4.16352
PYG 7804.59715
QAR 3.646048
RON 4.778204
RSD 112.339038
RUB 104.308748
RWF 1364.748788
SAR 3.754429
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.693555
SDG 601.503676
SEK 11.036204
SGD 1.346604
SHP 0.789317
SLE 22.730371
SLL 20969.504736
SOS 571.332598
SRD 35.494038
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.748021
SYP 2512.529858
SZL 18.034455
THB 34.480369
TJS 10.647152
TMT 3.5
TND 3.17616
TOP 2.342104
TRY 34.552504
TTD 6.790153
TWD 32.583504
TZS 2659.340659
UAH 41.35995
UGX 3694.035222
UYU 42.516436
UZS 12825.951341
VES 46.55914
VND 25419
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.791591
XAF 629.547483
XAG 0.031938
XAU 0.000369
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.760497
XOF 629.547483
XPF 114.458467
YER 249.925037
ZAR 18.15566
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.617448
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

Fresh hopes for landmark treaty to rescue ocean life
Fresh hopes for landmark treaty to rescue ocean life

Fresh hopes for landmark treaty to rescue ocean life

World leaders are under pressure to conclude years of talks on an agreement to protect open oceans that help sustain life on Earth, cover almost half the planet and currently fall under no country's laws.

Text size:

As plans to protect and restore ecosystems across the world are mainstreamed, conservationists hope an oceans summit in France this week will give fresh momentum to efforts to finalise a legally binding UN treaty on the high seas.

The issue could not be more urgent, they say.

Oceans produce half the oxygen we breathe, regulate the weather and provide humanity's single largest source of protein.

But they are being pushed to the brink by human activities.

Carbon dioxide emissions and global warming drive devastating heatwaves and acidification, while humans have fished some marine species to the edge of extinction and used the world's waters as a garbage dump.

"The oceans as a whole are becoming warmer, the salinity levels are increasing. There's less oxygen for marine life," said Liz Karan, an expert with The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Even if a new treaty cannot solve all these problems, she said the accord was "more important than ever".

"What it can do is to ensure that there are refuges in place, great protected areas in place, that can give marine species a chance to breathe, an opportunity to survive and adapt to climate change."

- 'Greatest opportunity' -

Today, a patchwork of agreements and regulatory bodies govern shipping, fishing, and mineral extraction, while the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, negotiated in the 1970s, lays out rules for how far a nation's zone of influence extends beyond its shores.

But despite two decades of consultations and negotiations, there is still no treaty protecting international waters -- those marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, accounting for about two-thirds of the world's oceans.

A new round of UN talks in March will aim to conclude the agreement.

"We sometimes say this is the most important environmental treaty that most people haven't even heard of," said Peggy Kalas, director of the High Seas Alliance, which brings together some 40 NGOs and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The issue is finally gathering wider attention, she said, adding that meetings like the One Ocean Summit being held this week in the north-western French port city of Brest can help add to the pressure on governments to reach an agreement.

"It is really the greatest opportunity in a generation to conserve ocean life and diversity on a global scale," she told AFP.

- Shared responsibility -

Several issues divide nations on how best to manage the world's vast expanse of open ocean.

Among the chief issues up for debate are the creation of marine protected areas and the scope for curbing large-scale commercial fishing.

Another contentious question is who gets a share of the benefits from the exploitation of what are known as "marine genetic resources".

Poorer countries fear they will be sidelined as wealthier nations scour the seas for the next wonder ingredients for the pharmaceutical, chemical or cosmetic industries, and lock up the spoils in trademarks and patents.

"They want any financial gain originating from the resources of the high seas to fall under a benefit-sharing regime," said Andre Abreu, of the Tara Ocean Foundation.

An indication of the continued wrangling is the sheer number of sections in the latest treaty draft from 2019 still in tentative square brackets.

These include several overarching statements for the high seas, like the reference to the "polluter pays principle" and the "common heritage of mankind", a designation that currently only applies to the world's sea beds.

Other issues on the table include how to set up environmental impact assessments, enforcement and technology transfer.

The concept of marine protected areas has gathered significant international support, with more than 75 countries backing a plan to create conservation areas covering 30 percent of the world's land and oceans by 2030.

But the High Seas Alliance said a key issue will be if the treaty allows individual states to be able to veto the creation of a marine protected area.

"We're at the stage where we really need leadership from the highest level," Kalas said.

"This is urgent, every day and year it is delayed, there is biodiversity loss. We need to conclude these negotiations."

T.M.Dan--TFWP