We urgently need protection for our oceans.
It is sometimes hard to believe that while we have global (and many regional) agreements on how to carve up the exploitation of fish and mineral resources, there are still no rules when it comes to specifying the responsibility of states and industry on the conservation of marine biological diversity, on the establishment of no-take areas and the conduct of environmental impact assessments prior to exploitation. If you want to fish, drill or mine the global commons there is a place to go and a process to follow. But if you want to protect the commons, things get – conveniently - complex and vague. The result is that while 40% is needed to be set aside as no take marine reserves to let the oceans recover, less than 1% of the high seas is protected. The commitment of our governments to establish a network of marine protected areas in our oceans and seas expires in 2012 with very little to show for.
In May the UN biodiversity working group made a breakthrough after years of informal talk by agreeing to recommend to the UN General Assembly to kick-start a process in 2012 to fill these legal gaps. It is absolutely necessary that countries adopt a Biodiversity Agreement under the UN Law of the Sea Convention (the Oceans constitution) that will spell out the binding obligation and the tools to protect biodiversity in the high seas. It is promising that the G77 countries recently called for such agreement in a Ministerial Declaration. The EU countries have also been supportive. The few countries still in opposition include the US, Norway, Iceland and Russia.
So the question this, will States act collectively to the will of the majority to protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction? Will we see in the UN Oceans Resolution a commitment of our governments to stop the crime and protect marine life in the vast and deep areas of our oceans?
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