The oceans will have to continue to wait for a deal to protect them.After two weeks of negotiations, it ended without a deal at the UN this Friday, but with the expectation that it could eventually be closed soon.
Later that night in New York, the negotiators gave up and decided that more time was needed to reach this international agreement that has been debated since 2018. suspend the fifth and final round of negotiations -it ended today- and started again at an as yet undetermined date.
This was announced by Rena Lee, chair of the conference negotiating the deal, after several meetings where positions were tried at the last minute in search of a deal. According to Lee, we are “closer to the goal than ever before” today, but a little more time is needed to complete the process.
more delay
Agreement negotiated by countries around the world seeks to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine areas areas outside national jurisdiction, commonly known as the high seas. It is a tool that environmentalists see as fundamental to guaranteeing the future of the oceans and has been claimed for decades, but delays continue to accumulate.
Negotiations officially began in 2018 and the goal was to reach an agreement by 2020, but these plans fell through due to the covid-19 pandemic, which forced the entire process to be delayed. Now, the goal was to reach an agreement in 2022, something complicated after the failure of this round of negotiations, but not excluded.
According to Greenpeace, if there is no agreement this year, it will be very difficult to reach the target of protecting 30% of the ocean area by 2030. allow marine ecosystems to recover from the pressures they are subjected to.
According to experts, the main threats to the high seas, which make up two-thirds of the total oceans, are pollution, climate change and new technologies that open the door to mining and more intensive fishing at the bottom of the seas.
important developments
Although the fifth round of negotiations was not successful, most of the participating national delegations and non-governmental organizations this Friday stressed the importance of progress achieved in the last few hours and showing some optimism.
“While it is disappointing that the agreement has not been concluded in the last two weeks of negotiations, we are encouraged by the progress made. We urge delegates to maintain momentum and complete the deal as the conference continues this year.” Liz Karan, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts oceans campaign, made a statement.
Gladys Martínez, executive director of the Inter-American Association for the Advocacy of the Environment (AIDA), for her part, emphasized: saw “great progress” AIDA hopes the text will allow for the establishment of marine protected areas, minimum standards of environmental impact assessments, and equitable and equitable access to marine resources. creation and transfer of genetic resources and technologies.
According to Greenpeace, these latter issues are one of the biggest issues in the negotiations, particularly regarding marine genetic resources—species that could provide patentable genes for future use in medicine, for example. He blames the European Union (EU), the USA and other rich countries for this. prioritize hypothetical profits instead of seeking a compromise, they can achieve it this way. Greenpeace also pointed to Russia as an obstacle in the negotiations and assured that the countries pushing the most to advance the agreement were the Pacific islands and Caribbean countries.