The establishment of Marine Protected Areas (AMP) and contribution to fill the gaps in the current mosaic of management bodies, achieving better cooperation and less cumulative impact of activities in international waters, such as marine transport, industrial fishing, and the exploitation of other resources, are the aspects that, after learning about the High Seas Agreement at the beginning of this week, WWF highlighted yesterday.
“What happens on the high seas will no longer be ‘under the radar or out of mind.’ The High Seas treaty will allow for the kind of oversight and integration that is required if we want the oceans to continue to deliver all of the social, economic and environmental benefits that humanity enjoys to date,” said Jessica Battle, Senior Policy and Governance Expert at the Oceans, who led the WWF team in the negotiations.
“We will now be able to view the cumulative impacts on our oceans in a way that reflects the interconnected blue economy and the ecosystems that support it,” he added.
WWF also indicated that the High Seas Treaty is necessary to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits countries to protect and conserve at least 30% of the oceans and guarantee that 30% of degraded areas are restored by the year 2030.
“This is a historic moment for the oceans, ushering in a new era of collective responsibility for our planet’s most important global commons,” said Pepe Clarke, WWF Global Oceans Practice Leader. “Last year, nations committed to halting and reversing nature loss by 2030. The agreement reached this week is an important step in fulfilling that promise.”
For Ximena Barrera, director of Government Relations and International Affairs of WWF Colombia, this new treaty is especially relevant in the Colombian context, given the progress in the country and the joint work at the regional level within the framework of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific and the efforts of Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama, in order to guarantee the sustainable use of biological diversity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor-CMAR.
“We welcome this new treaty, which will strengthen ocean governance, protect marine biodiversity based on the principles of conservation and sustainable use, the assessment of environmental impacts, and the equitable sharing of benefits”Barrera said.
“At WWF we are willing to support countries with our experience in the ratification and implementation process. This is a first step, but we cannot diminish our ambitions to protect these ecosystems, fundamental for the subsistence of hundreds of species and of humanity”, he added.
“WWF supports that offshore activities be subject to environmental impact assessments commensurate with the scale of damage. All activities that could have an impact on ocean life will need to be covered by these assessments, providing an opportunity to stop harmful activities and reduce cumulative impacts. This will be particularly important when it comes to possible future activities, such as deep-sea mining and deep-sea carbon capture and storage, of which there is very little knowledge about the impacts at present.
He added that “WWF believes that the scientific and technical body to be established as a result of the agreement will be essential to ensure that proposals and management plans for marine protected areas are robustly evaluated and that environmental impact assessment reports are received and made available to the world community. Alongside this, the Implementation and Compliance Committee will operationalize significantly enhanced cooperation, and a dispute resolution mechanism will provide an opportunity for states to take action against violations.”
He explained that “the obligation of developed states to share knowledge and technology, and to build capacity among countries will facilitate a more equitable participation in high seas conservation, particularly for developing nations.”
“Ocean advocates around the world can enjoy this moment that has been years in the making,” says Battle. “But this is not a finish line. For the good intentions of the treaty to deliver results on the water, we must keep up the pressure. Once the technicalities are worked out and the treaty adopted, it must enter into force before it can be put into practice: all countries must formally sign it and quickly ratify it into their own national law. Words matter, but our ocean needs action,” Battle said.
The high seas support crucial fisheries, provide habitats for hundreds of thousands of species, and help mitigate climate impacts, with 23% of human-related carbon emissions absorbed by the ocean in the past 10 years.. The high seas and the wildlife that migrate through these waters will finally receive the attention they deserve once enough countries adopt and ratify this agreement allowing the instrument to enter into force.