United Nation High Seas Treaty (UPSC Current Affairs)

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(Source: Indian Express)

Why in the News?

• Recently negotiations involving 168 countries, including the European Union (EU) failed to agree on a United Nation High Seas Treaty (also known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty) for protecting oceans.
• It was hoped that an agreement would be reached for the conserving marine life at the ‘high seas’ which lie outside the exclusive jurisdiction of different countries.
• But it failed due to resistance from countries that engage in deep sea mining of minerals or are heavily invested in deep sea commercial fishing.

What is the proposed UN High Seas treaty?

• It is also referred to as the ‘Paris Agreement for the Ocean’. It deals with Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction and has been under discussion for several years.
• It is negotiated under the 1982 United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) which governs the rights of countries regarding marine resources.
• The proposed treaty concerns the ocean existing beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that lie from the coast of a country to about 200 nautical miles(370 km) into the sea, till where it has special rights for exploration. Waters beyond this are known as open seas or high seas.
• It aims to achieve more holistic management of high seas activities, which should better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.

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

• There are some treaties, along with the UNCLOS, that regulate the conduct of actors on the high seas.
• The UNCLOS establishes territorial sea boundaries up to 22 km offshore, deciding the region up to which countries could claim full sovereign territorial rights, as well as the 200 nautical miles EEZ limit.
• It also created the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and other conflict-resolution mechanisms.
• But there is no treaty dedicated to protecting ocean health beyond national jurisdiction as of now.
• Thus, every country has the unregulated and uncontrolled right to access open seas, which has resulted in large-scale drilling and trawling operations for catching fish and other animals for commercial purposes.

What are the risks of countries failing to reach an agreement?

• According to NASA, 90% of global warming is occurring in the ocean. The effects of ocean warming include thermal expansion causing sea level rise, coral bleaching, accelerated melting of Earth’s major ice caps, intensified hurricanes, and changes in ocean health and biochemistry.
• Over the years, excessive fishing has increased manifold and a third of marine species are at the risk of extinction. Despite acknowledging these threats, members failed to agree on how to deal with these threats.