Explained: What is the UN High Seas Treaty, why have countries failed to agree on it?

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: What is the UN High Seas Treaty, why have countries failed to agree on it?” published in Indian Express on 30th August 2022.

What is the News?

Negotiations, involving 168 countries including the European Union on a UN High Seas treaty for protecting oceans, failed.

What is the UN High Seas Treaty?

The UN High Seas Treaty is also referred to as the ‘Paris Agreement for the Ocean’.

Purpose: The proposed treaty aims to deal with the ocean existing beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones(EEZ). Waters beyond EEZ are known as open seas or high seas. 

The treaty was to be negotiated under the United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982 which governs the rights of countries regarding marine resources. 

Some aspects of negotiations under the treaty include: establishing marine protected areas to put limits on certain activities, environmental impact assessments or clearances for the sustainability of works, financial support to countries, and sharing other scientific knowledge. 

How are the world’s oceans regulated as of now?

Some treaties along with the UNCLOS regulate the conduct of actors on the high seas. But a treaty dedicated to protecting ocean health does not exist as of now. 

Conversely, every country has the right to access open seas, resulting in large-scale drilling and trawling operations for catching fish and other animals for commercial purposes.

What are the risks involved if countries fail to reach an agreement?

According to NASA, 90% of global warming is occurring in the ocean. The effects of ocean warming include sea level rise due to thermal expansion, coral bleaching, accelerated melting of Earth’s major ice sheets, intensified hurricanes, and changes in ocean health and biochemistry.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, excessive fishing has increased manifold over the years, and a third of species such as sharks and rays are at risk of extinction.

Despite acknowledging these threats, members failed to agree on how to deal with these threats.

Why are countries failing to negotiate a High Seas treaty?

Firstly, the pandemic resulted in many delays, and the negotiations were not held on many issues.

Secondly, a High Ambition Coalition came about and put the focus on ‘30×30’ goals – protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030. The coalition has more than 100 countries including India, the US, and the UK. This coalition is creating pressure on the leaders to include these goals in any treaty concerning the conservation of the high seas.

Thirdly, the negotiating parties have not agreed on the legal nature of this treaty. Many institutions, such as the IUCN, are demanding this treaty to be legally binding in order to become more effective.

Lastly, the treaty is facing resistance from countries that engage in deep sea mining of minerals or are heavily invested in fishing.