There is cause for celebration in our climatically distressed world for a treaty of historic proportions has been signed by the UN member states. It is the culmination of 15 years of talks and discussions.
Vital to the preservation of 30 percent of our earth, i.e. land and ocean, the oceans treaty
broke many political barriers. The EU environment commissioner
Virginijus Sinkevicius applauded the event saying it was a crucial step
towards preserving marine life and its essential biodiversity for
generations to come.
The UN Secretary General commended the delegates, his spokesperson calling the agreement a "victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come."
The real problem is the oceans belong to no one -- and thus available to everyone -- because the exclusive economic zones of countries end beyond 200 nautical miles (370 kms) from their coastlines.
These
high seas are threatened by over-fishing, man-made pollution including
damaging plastics, and also climate change. People are unaware that
oceans create half the oxygen we breathe, and help in containing global
warming by absorbing the carbon dioxide released by human activities --
one can think of all the coal and wood fires, particularly in developing
countries, and the coal-fired power stations everywhere among other
uses of fossil fuels.
The fact is we
have to value the environment that nurtures us for the consequences of
our disregard can in the final analysis destroy life itself. As it stands,
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports in its 2022 Living Planet Index a 69 percent decrease in monitored populations since 1970, a mere half century. Their data analyzed 32,000 species.
As the apex species, such a loss forces humans to assume responsibility. It rests on each and every one of us from individuals to governments to corporate entities, and across the spectrum of human activity.
The
treaty furnishes legal tools to assist in creating protected areas for
marine life; it also requires environmental assessments for intended
commercial activity... like deep sea mining for example. The nearly 200 countries
involved also signed a pledge to share ocean resources. All in all, it has been a
triumph of common sense over the individual greed of people and nations.
So it is that the treaty has made possible the 30x30 target, namely, to protect 30 percent of oceans by 2030. Now comes the hard work of organizing the protection. Who will police the areas? Who will pay for it?
