India to ratify High Seas Treaty: Recent Agreement and Significance

July 10, 2024

The Indian government has said that it will sign and approve the High Seas Treaty. The goal of this international deal is to protect marine biodiversity and make sure that ocean resources are used in a way that doesn’t harm the environment. The treaty, which was reached after almost 20 years of talks, is a plan to protect the high seas, which are places that are not controlled by any one country.

Treaty Overview

The pact, which is officially called the Agreement on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) aims to protect ocean environments and cut down on pollution. National exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which are 200 nautical miles from coasts, do not cover the high seas, which make up about 64% of the world’s oceans.

Importance of the Treaty

In terms of how important it is for the atmosphere, the High Seas Treaty is often compared to the Paris Agreement from 2015. It talks about problems like using up too many resources, losing species, and ocean pollution from things like plastic trash. The treaty is an implementation agreement for the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS sets rules for actions in the sea but doesn’t have any specific ways to protect biodiversity.

Core Objectives and Mechanisms

The main goals of the pact are:

Protecting and preserving sea life by creating sea Protected Areas (MPAs) where activities are limited to avoid harming the environment.
Fair distribution of the benefits that come from using marine genetic resources, which could be very important for both scientific study and business.
Making environmental impact assessments (EIAs) mandatory for any actions that might be bad for the environment. Even activities planned within national borders must go through these reviews if they will have an impact on the high seas.

Ratification and Implementation

It needs to be signed by at least 60 countries for the High Seas Treaty to be valid. The treaty will become international law 120 days after it has been signed by 60 countries. Ratification means that a country is legally bound by the terms of the treaty. This can happen after the treaty is approved by the country’s legislature or through an executive decision, based on the legal system of the country. As of now, 91 countries have signed the pact, and eight have already sent in their ratifications. By joining this global effort, countries promise to take care of the ocean’s resources as a group, which is important for long-term survival and ecological balance.

About the High Seas Treaty

By 2030, the UN High Seas Treaty, which was signed in 2023, plans to protect 30% of the world’s seas. It sets up marine protected areas outside of national seas that cover about two-thirds of the ocean. The treaty improves international cooperation on ocean conservation, requires commercial activities to do environmental effect assessments, makes sure that marine genetic resources are shared fairly, and encourages nations to build their skills and share technology. To be successful, the Treaty needs to be ratified by 60 countries before it can go into effect. This will fix the problem of not having a complete set of laws that applied across national borders.

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