United Nations, March 4. UN countries continued their marathon negotiations on Saturday to try to agree on a treaty that protects the high seas of the oceans.
The final round of discussions on this text began on February 20 and was due to end on Friday, but the delegations continued their work all night to try to reach an agreement that had been demanded for decades.
In the early hours of Saturday, governments continued to talk at the United Nations headquarters in New York to close the last open points, mainly the one on how the future benefits of marine species that can provide patentable genes, for example for their use, will be shared in medicine.
Negotiations chair Rena Lee assured throughout Friday that progress was being made and asked all parties for flexibility to reach a treaty which, she insisted, is closer than ever.
After years of preparation, negotiations for this pact officially began in 2018 and the aim was to complete them in 2020, but these plans were frustrated due to the covid-19 pandemic, which forced the entire process to be delayed.
Then the countries set themselves the goal of having an agreement by 2022, which was not possible either, and now they are rushing into the last hours of negotiations to try to find a consensus.
One of the main objectives of this treaty is to serve as a basis for the creation of marine protected areas, which should facilitate the realization of the international promise to safeguard at least 30% of the oceans by 2030.
Pollution, climate change and new technologies that open the door to deep-sea mining and more intensive fishing are, experts say, the main threats to the high seas, which accounts for two-thirds of all the oceans.
Despite their enormous importance for the planet, until now all these waters located more than 200 nautical miles from the coast and shared by all countries have been managed under a series of international agreements and organizations. without clear competence, without much coordination and with a standard for their protection. ECE
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