Wildlife

High Seas Treaty

After almost two decades of drafting and debating, UN member states agreed on a treaty to protect the ocean’s international waters. It is key to enforcing the 30 by 30 pledge agreed to at the UN biodiversity conference in December to place 30% of Earth’s land and seas under protection by 2030.

New protected areas will limit how much fishing can be conducted, where commercial shipping can sail and where minerals are extracted from the seabed 200 meters or more beneath the surface. The main obstacle that delayed the accord was how the ocean’s living resources would be shared, such as the plants and animals that could lead to new medications and food.