As negotiations for a historic high seas ocean treaty continues, High Seas Alliance members have been organizing a number of meetings and events with governments and regional groups to discuss what a new high seas ocean treaty might include.
Continue reading Ottawa Workshop: The Role of Science and a Scientific Body under the New Instrument
Greenpeace is urging governments at the UN to create a strong Global Ocean Treaty which could pave the way for the protection of at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 via a network of ocean sanctuaries. Over the next 12 months, Greenpeace will sail from the Arctic to the Antarctic, undertaking ground-breaking research and investigations, and using what we find to inspire millions around the world to join us in supporting healthy oceans and a strong Global Ocean Treaty by 2020. Ahead of the second Intergovernmental Conference, Greenpeace has been engaging with decision makers in more than 20 capitals worldwide. Our political team will also be heading to New York. Greenpeace’s briefing to the IGC2 offers recommendations for improved text on Marine Protected Areas.
Continue reading Greenpeace to Launch New Report: “30 x 30: Blueprint for Ocean Protection
Source: TRT World
The High Seas are a vast expanse of water and home to 90 percent of marine life but are largely unregulated. Fishing, research, deep-sea mining – all can take place at the expense of the environment. Now the United Nations has launched negotiations for an international treaty to protect the oceans.
The main business of the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) concluded with applause on Friday, September 14 and closing remarks by the President of the Conference Ambassador Rena Lee of Singapore. There was a palpable sense of optimism in the room, as it was evident that there is a clear path towards a treaty to protect the high seas.
Continue reading First Intergovernmental Conference Comes to a Close
Treaty negotiations to conserve and protect nearly two thirds of the ocean open today at the United Nations (UN) in what is widely regarded as the greatest opportunity in a generation to turn the tide on ocean degradation and biodiversity loss.
Marine Conservation Institute (MCI) continues its support of a strong UN treaty that will create lasting protections for high seas biodiversity, through its research, mapping and communications. By using its expertise in Geographic Information Systems and mapping, MCI’s scientists identify the locations of indicator species, mainly cold-water corals and sponges, that can be used to establish protections for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) and protect the high seas. Its efforts to develop species distribution models help map species, and these provide international authorities with essential information for implementing protection measures. The Atlas of Marine Protection (MPAtlas.org) initiative is also a hub for tracking and analyzing VMEs and other high seas protection measures.
Continue reading Marine Conservation Institute Tracks VMEs and other High Seas Protection Measures
On 24th December 2017, the United Nations General Assembly took the historic decision to open the negotiations of a treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas (“Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions” or “BBNJ”). High seas represent two thirds of our oceans and are barely protected today.
Source: National Geographic
Author: Stephen Leahy
A new international effort hopes to stem the tide of illegal and under-regulated fishing and otherwise protect the ocean from a range of threats, to benefit everyone. The nations of the world have launched a historic two-year process to create the first-ever international treaty to protect life in the high seas.Covering nearly half of the planet, the high seas are international waters where no country has jurisdiction. These waters, which reach depths of nearly seven miles, are filled with life, from valuable fish to plankton. They help generate the oxygen we breathe and regulate the global climate.
Continue reading The UN Starts a Conservation Treaty for the High Seas
The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution today, December 24th, towards protecting half the planet as it agrees to the opening of formal negotiations for a new ocean treaty.The negotiations will commence in September 2018, aiming for a new international treaty to protect the biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, commonly known as the high seas.
States meeting at the United Nations in New York today took an important step towards launching negotiations for a new treaty to protect the biodiversity of the high seas (areas beyond the national jurisdiction). Making up two thirds of the global ocean, marine life in the high seas is not effectively protected. A new treaty will rectify this, putting in place measures to protect the rich and globally significant biodiversity and ecosystem services of the high seas and to govern activities undertaken there sustainably.
Continue reading Important Progress Made Towards Ocean Treaty
