HSA in the News

New global ocean treaty: Historic action for the High Seas

24 April, 2023

Author: Nathalie Rey – Source: the-ies.org

In the late hours of the 4th March, after almost 1.5 days of non-stop negotiation, the world’s governments meeting at the United Nations in New York finally agreed on a Treaty text to protect the High Seas, or as it is officially known, for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). Applause broke out in the crowded UN conference room with smiles of relief and tears of joy on tired faces when the President of the Conference Rena Lee announced, “The ship has reached the shore”, confirming after a rollercoaster two weeks this historic win that will help address the many governance gaps that have plagued the ocean for decades.

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Ministers reaffirm their ambition to finalize in March groundbreaking new Treaty to safeguard life in the high seas

19 December, 2022

Montreal, 17th December 2022, Today, Ministers meeting in the sidelines of CBD COP15, one of the most critical conferences for biodiversity this century, recognized the importance of working together to secure the finalization of an ambitious new treaty to safeguard marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), commonly known, as the High Seas. Ministers and high-level officials from Australia, Canada, European Commission, France, Germany, Palau, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the USA attended the meeting, together with members from civil society and Indigenous peoples and local communties. 

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High Seas Alliance in Latin America

8 June, 2021

The Latin American region’s positive leadership has been tangible towards the final phase of the negotiations for a new legally binding BBNJ Treaty. 

In this context, High Seas Alliance representatives supported a webinar on capacity building and the transfer of marine technology hosted by Honduras and El Salvador on March 23rd, 2021. HSA provided support towards the organization and experts’ selections, as well as interpreters to facilitate the discussions between the participants and the experts. 

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Towards Blue Governance: Bringing the High Seas Treaty over the finish line

27 November, 2020

The High Seas Alliance, in collaboration with the Paris Peace Forum 2020, convened a high-level panel to discuss the new high seas treaty and the need for global ambition to move it past the finish line in 2021. The panel was moderated by former Costa Rican President and Founder of Ocean Unite, José Maria Figueres, with panel discussion amongst  Virginijus Sinkevičius (Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, European Commission), H.E. Rena Lee (President of the Intergovernmental Conference on BBNJ), Annick Girardin (Minister of Marine Affairs, France) and Sir Richard Branson (CEO Virgin).

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High Seas Alliance and Prospect Round Table

1 April, 2020

World governments were due to meet at the United Nations in March/April this year for the final scheduled negotiation session to establish a new international legally-binding High Seas Treaty.

While these negotiations have been temporarily postponed, it is important to continue the work and momentum towards finalising negotiations and the adoption of this landmark treaty as early as possible.

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High Seas Alliance Newsletter – Spring 2020

23 March, 2020

Dear Ocean Friends,

We are in the midst of unprecedented global health threats that require all of us to recalibrate, and find new ways to approach our work, our communities and our social lives.  In the midst of the postponement of the fourth and final-slated session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC4) to negotiate a legally binding treaty under UNCLOS for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), the ocean is still facing unprecedented threats from human activities.  It is all the more important to use this extended intersessional period as an opportunity to progress negotiations on the President’s draft text.  While the date for IGC4 is yet to be determined, the High Seas Alliance is prepared to support new and innovative ways of working during these challenging times. We must work together, continue the momentum and keep ambition high so that we can conclude IGC4 with a treaty that delivers long-awaited protection for marine life in our high seas.

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La France à l’avant-garde de l’Ocean, Bien commun de l’Humanité

5 December, 2019

Source: Ocean as Common 

Le 8 juin 2018, nous lancions un Appel pour que l’Ocean soit reconnu comme bien commun de l’Humanité.

Ce mardi 2 décembre 2019, lors de son discours aux Assises de l’économie de la mer, le Président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, a posé ce principe comme fondement de la stratégie maritime de la France.
Dans une allocation portant haut l’ambition maritime pour la France, le chef de l’Etat a en effet déclaré : « La vision maritime que la France doit développer est claire : l’océan est un bien commun de l’humanité, … Un bien placé sous notre responsabilité collective et individuelle, de la haute mer aux eaux territoriales »

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Paris Peace Forum Announcement

15 November, 2019

Good news for global governance of the ocean! The High Seas Alliance, a global partnership of 40 environmental NGOs and IUCN, has been selected as one of the 10 projects out of a total of 700 applicants, to be “scaled-up” over the next year through support and advice from the prestigious Paris Peace Forum.  Specifically, the Paris Peace Forum will promote HSA’s work to protect the ocean’s immense and unique biodiversity with a binding international governance treaty, currently being negotiated at the UN. 

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