The Member States of the United Nations are meeting, from this Monday, February 20, to draw up a treaty on this part of the oceans which extends beyond national jurisdictions. The high seas are in fact the subject of growing desire: submarine cables for our internet connections, fishing, genetic resources which are of interest to the pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetics industries, deep-sea mining: it will be essential to preserve if the world is to achieve its environmental goals…
The high seas are at the center of new international negotiations in New York. This is the third time in less than a year that negotiators have met in New York for what is supposed to be the last session. Objective: to protect the biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The NGOs denounce the slowness of the negotiations. The discussions initiated since 2006 have in fact come up against divergent points of view between States, in particular concerning the distribution of the possible benefits resulting from the exploitation of the genetic resources of the high seas. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down the pace of discussions. They have therefore not succeeded so far.
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But the historic agreement reached in December 2022 in Montreal at COP15 on biodiversity gives new impetus to these negotiations.
” The high seas belong to everyone and no one “, underlines Sophie Gambardella, specialist in international law of marine biodiversity, interviewed by Lucile Gimberg. This zone, which is not well known, begins where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the States end, that is to say at a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast. We know that it is an important center of biodiversity, hence the need to regulate human activities there.
Protective measures under discussion
The draft text on the table, which was intended to be very ambitious, now revolves around three subjects:
– The establishment of marine protected areas (MPA)
They already exist, but not on the high seas. The objective of 30% marine protected areas has been set. But delegations are still divided on the process of creating these sanctuaries.
– Exploitation of marine genetic resources
Each State, maritime or not, will be able to organize collections of plants, animals or microbes, the genetic material of which can then be used, including commercially, for example by pharmaceutical companies. On this point, tensions between the North and the South exist. ” Rather, it is the northern states that will have the technologies to be able to exploit these genetic resources. The question of the fair distribution of benefits is therefore at the heart of the negotiations, such as the possible transfer of capacity and technology so that in the long term, the countries of the South can also exploit these genetic resources. “, explains Sophie Gambardella, specialist in international law on marine biodiversity.
– The development of impact studies on the marine environment
The treaty creates the principle of the obligation to study, before their authorization, the impact on the environment of the activities envisaged on the high seas.
A number of rules already exist. But they are dated
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. At the time, nothing was known about the high seas since human activities were limited to coastal areas. But new activities are appearing, such as deep-sea fishing, the exploitation of genetic or mineral resources.
This space, which represents about half of the planet, does not benefit from an appropriate management regime. It is therefore becoming urgent to adopt a treaty for the protection of this space, especially since this future text will be a key step in achieving the objective of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030.
However, there are already safeguards, according to Sophie Gambardella. “ We already have all the classic environmental treaties that apply, the Convention on Biological Diversity, for example, applies to the high seas. We also have 50 regional fisheries management organizations that regulate fishing techniques that have an impact on the environment. So we still have things, but it remains incomplete and uncoordinated. The purpose of this treaty is to make it possible both to complete the legal regimes and also to coordinate the whole”.
Defenders of the oceans stress that to be effective, the treaty must be “universal” by garnering the support of the greatest number of countries. However, it may enter into force from 30 or 60 ratifications, a number on which the States must agree.
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