The high seas represent more than half of the surface of the planet and two thirds of the oceans. Richard Carey – stock.adobe.com
Even without unanimity of the countries, a United Nations treaty protecting the biodiversity of ocean areas beyond territorial waters seems close to an agreement.
From February 20 to March 3, ocean experts are meeting in New York, at the United Nations headquarters, to finally try to reach an agreement on the protection of the high seas. More specifically, the negotiations relate to the treaty known as “BBNJ”, an acronym for “biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction”, i.e. developing rules to protect the genetic biodiversity of marine areas beyond the territorial waters of countries.
This area is gigantic: it represents more than half of the surface of the planet and two thirds of the oceans. The dossier is crucial for the protection of living organisms, but very complex, because it involves “of an area free of movement and open exploitation”recalls Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, ambassador in charge of the oceans and the poles and special envoy of Emmanuel Macron to the United Nations conference.
Read alsoEmmanuel Macron announces the next United Nations conference on the oceans in Nice in 2025
Discussions began in 2007 and the last negotiations, in August 2022, were unsuccessful. For this reason…
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