Treaty will help to protect the seas globally
Monday, March 27, 2023
Significance
The high seas, or international waters, account for around 60% of the world’s oceans. They have, until now, been a largely ungoverned space, exposed to unrestricted shipping, fishing, deep-sea mining and marine resource exploitation.
Impacts
- China’s prominent role in the treaty’s negotiation suggests that global cooperation can endure, despite deteriorating East-West relations.
- The treaty will boost the chances of biodiversity being protected and sustainably used, and of degraded marine ecosystems being restored.
- The EU has announced over EUR800mn (USD862mn) in funding for ocean protection; substantial pledges by other actors will follow.