UN High Seas Treaty

Context: Recently, the world’s first international treaty to protect the high seas was adopted at the United Nations.

• The treaty, officially known as the treaty on “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction” or BBNJ.

Probable Question: Q. “What are the key provisions and implications of the United Nations High Seas Treaty?”

Image Source: NOAA Ocean Exploration

About the High Seas:

• According to the 1958 Geneva Convention, the high seas are the parts of the ocean beyond a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
  • They lie beyond the jurisdiction of any one country.
• It extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, and no country is responsible for managing or protecting its resources.
• The high seas comprise 64 percent of the ocean surface, and about 43 per cent of the Earth.

Key Features of Treaty:

• Environmental Impact Assessments: It introduces requirements to carry out environmental impact studies for proposed activities to be carried out in international waters.
• Benefit Sharing Guidelines: The treaty also establishes principles for sharing the benefits of “marine genetic resources” (MGR) collected by scientific research in international waters.
• Negotiated under UNCLOS: The treaty was negotiated under UNCLOS of 1982 which governs the rights of countries regarding marine resources.
• Biodiversity Conservation: It recognizes the need for biodiversity conservation
  • The ‘High Seas Treaty’ proposes to protect 30% of the world’s oceans and increase funding for marine conservation

Importance of High Seas:

• Importance and Extent of the High Seas: The high seas account for more than 60% of the world’s ocean area and cover about half of the Earth’s surface, which makes them a hub of marine life.
• Biodiversity of the High Seas: They are home to around 2.7 lakh known species, many of which are yet to be discovered.
• Regulate Climate: The high seas regulate the climate by playing a fundamental role in planetary stability by mitigating the effects of climate change through its absorption of carbon and by storing solar radiation and distributing heat around the globe.
• Anthropogenic Pressures on the High Seas: It include seabed mining, noise pollution, chemical spills and fires, disposal of untreated waste (including antibiotics), overfishing, introduction of invasive species, and coastal pollution.

Additional Information: About UNCLOS: UNCLOS defined the rights and duties of countries in the oceans, the extent of ocean areas over which countries could claim sovereignty, and the legal status of marine resources. It also specified a set of general rules for a range of activities in the oceans including navigation, scientific research, and deep-sea mining.

 News Source: Hindustan Times