Negotiations conclude in New York without approving the High Seas Treaty

The multilateral negotiations to close the ambitious High Seas Treaty, designed to protect international waters beyond territorial ones, concluded this Friday in New York without having reached a final consensus.

The latest round of these negotiations, which have been underway since 2018, took place between March 7 and 18 in New York, but a number of key issues remain to be agreed upon, said Will McCallun, of Greenpeace and part of the High Seas Alliance, an umbrella grouping together dozens of environmental organizations.

The negotiators, among whom are 48 member countries, have given themselves a new non-precise deadline to meet again, which in principle will be throughout 2022, since the current year is the deadline given by the main stakeholders. to end a text.

“We’re running out of time. There was no particular point that has prevented the final agreement, but rather it has been the pace of the negotiations, very slow, which has not even allowed (putting on the table) the draft of the text to put it up for discussionLiz Karan of the US-based Pew Charitable Trusts said in a statement.

“Countries need the treaty this year –continued– to establish marine protection zones and thus contribute to protecting at least 30% of the global marine surface and thus guarantee the health of the oceans”, he reasoned.

“And while it is disappointing that countries have not been able to finalize the treaty, we are encouraged by the progress that has been made. It is essential now to move forward and build on this momentum to have another round of negotiations soon.Karan concluded.

Although many of the issues in the treaty are technical, most revolve around fishing pressure and marine pollution, both that generated by plastics -very little biodegradable- and that of discharges of highly toxic liquids, generated by chemical or nuclear power plants. .

“Environmental multilateralism is at a critical crossroads for our planet. Decision makers now have a clear opportunity to create significant progress towards reducing transboundary pollution.”, said Fabienne McLean, of Ocean Care.