{"id":32497,"date":"2023-03-10T00:01:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T05:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=32497"},"modified":"2023-03-10T09:44:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T14:44:58","slug":"193-countries-in-the-united-nations-approve-treaty-to-stop-the-oceans-from-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/03\/193-countries-in-the-united-nations-approve-treaty-to-stop-the-oceans-from-dying\/","title":{"rendered":"193 Countries in the United Nations Approve Treaty to Stop the Oceans from Dying"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, March 10, 2023)\u00a0Following years of discussions and negotiations, 193 United Nations member countries have just approved \u2014 for the first time \u2014 a draft treaty for protection of the globe\u2019s \u201chigh seas\u201d and their denizens<\/a>. The March 4 adoption of the draft marks the achievement of a potential legal framework for such protections, but is also the beginning of \u201ca long journey to ensure the world\u2019s oceans are adequately protected for future generations,\u201d according to coverage by NewScientist.<\/em><\/a> As research out of Boston College identifies<\/a>, our oceans are badly polluted by multiple substances \u2014 including pesticides and other agricultural runoff; industrial and petrochemical waste; and the synthetic chemicals embedded in plastics \u2014 that threaten human health. The treaty, which must be adopted by member states and then ratified by at least 60 countries to take effect could be a critical development for meeting the COP15 \u201c30 by 30\u201d goal<\/a> of protecting 30% of the world\u2019s land and sea by 2030 to slow and arrest global biodiversity losses<\/a>. Beyond Pesticides has long covered the ecological harms of ocean pollution<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The treaty represents a step toward implementation of President Biden\u2019s 2021 \u201cAmerica the Beautiful Initiative,\u201d\u00a0proclaiming \u201cthe\u00a0first-ever national conservation goal<\/a>\u201d established by a President \u2014 a goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.\u201d That said, the U.S. has a poor track record on approval of UN environmental treaties; approval requires a two-thirds majority affirmative vote in the Senate, and failure on that would block a Presidential signature and ratification.<\/p>\r\n

Consensus on the draft treaty<\/a> \u2014 titled \u201cAgreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction\u201d \u2014 was not easy. Since 2004 nations have been in discussions about how to create environmental protections for international waters, but these repeatedly got bogged down around issues related to fishing rights, resource rights, funding, and allocation of the benefits of marine genetic resources (MGRs) derived from deep-sea corals, seaweeds, sponges, krill, and bacteria \u2014 in which the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries are very interested. Since 2022\u2019s COP15 summit<\/a>, pressure from global NGOs and the so-called \u201chigh ambition coalition\u201d (the U.S., United Kingdom, European Union [EU], and China) has mounted, and is credited with helping to get consensus on the treaty \u201cover the line.\u201d Promises of more funding, including roughly US$857 million from the EU, also greased the wheels.<\/p>\r\n

This treaty addresses the world\u2019s \u201chigh seas,\u201d defined as oceans that lie in international waters and thus, are not subject to national regulations. Stockholm University\u2019s Frida Bengtsson was quoted by NewScientist<\/em><\/a>: \u201cThe high seas belong to everyone; juridically, they\u2019re seen as \u2018the common heritage of mankind,\u2019 just as space or the moon.\u201d The high seas include the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Southern oceans, which host important areas of unique marine habitat and significant biodiversity that are under real threat from pollution, overfishing, and climate change. Roughly two-thirds of our oceans \u2014 covering about half the planet \u2014 are in the \u201chigh seas\u201d category, which also means there are few legal protections in place for them, especially related to environmental threats or risks.<\/p>\r\n

The world\u2019s oceans occupy half of the planet\u2019s surface and comprise two-thirds of oceanic real estate. They generate half of the oxygen humans breathe, host 95% of the biosphere of the Earth, and are, in the aggregate, the largest carbon sink. They are a primary regulator of global climate; and they are in trouble.<\/p>\r\n

The research referenced above<\/a> was the first to conduct a focused examination of ocean pollution\u2019s impacts on human health; it reviewed nearly 600 scientific reports on various aspects of maritime contamination. Published in Annals of Global Health<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>and released at the Monaco International Symposium on Human Health & the Ocean in a Changing World, the research paper concluded that ocean pollution is worsening, and that when the toxins from that pollution return to terra firma, they threaten the health and well-being of more than three billion people worldwide.<\/p>\r\n

Lead researcher Philip Landrigan, MD is director of the Boston College Global Observatory on Pollution and Health<\/a>, and the university\u2019s Global Public Health Program and Global Observatory on Planetary Health<\/a>, commented in a news release<\/a>: \u201cPeople have heard about plastic pollution in the oceans, but that is only part of it. Research shows the oceans are being fouled by a complex stew of toxins including mercury, pesticides, industrial chemicals, petroleum wastes, agricultural runoff, and manufactured chemicals embedded in plastic. These toxic materials in the ocean get into people, mainly by eating contaminated seafood. . . . We are all at risk, but the people most seriously affected are people in coastal fishing communities, people on small island nations, indigenous populations, and people in the high Arctic. The very survival of these vulnerable populations depends on the health of the seas.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The research team\u2019s central findings were these:<\/a><\/p>\r\n