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After nearly two decades of planning and negotiations, members of the United Nations have agreed on 

 to protect biodiversity in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean. 

The agreement, finalized late Saturday, lays the groundwork for global collaboration to tackle the ocean's persistent threats like biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change. 

"I believe that this treaty is like a second chance for the ocean," said Gladys Martínez, the executive director of AIDA, a group focused on protecting the environment, primarily in Latin America and has been involved with treaty discussions. 

The historic treaty is a major step toward the goal to protect at least 30% of ocean areas by 2030 — a target President Biden 

 and part of a broader land and marine conservation U.N.-led commitment known as 

Here's what to know about why this treaty matters:

Right now, international waters are largely unregulated 

The ocean is facing threats on multiple fronts. 

Commercial fishing operations span more than 

the world's ocean and have been detrimental to species and their habitats. According to the 

, more than a third of all sharks, rays and a shark-like fish called 

 are at risk of extinction because of overfishing. 

that almost every species group in the ocean has encountered plastic pollution, often swallowing or being entangled by it. 

Additionally, manmade climate change causes the ocean to 

, threatening marine life and coastal communities. 

Those problems are compounded by another dilemma: right now, international waters are largely governed by a fragmented patchwork of global agreements and organizations.

"There was no way to coordinate between these kinds of organizations," said Elizabeth Mendenhall, a marine affairs professor at the University of Rhode Island who researches ocean governance.

"So areas get overburdened, overexploited, they get more than they can handle because there isn't like a coordinated, holistic perspective," she added.

Another issue is that there is no international body committed to preserving biological diversity in regions outside territorial seas or ground rules on accessing genetic resources found in international waters, Mendenhall said.

Lisa Speer, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's International Oceans program, told NPR's A Martínez on 

 the biggest conservation-related accomplishment of the new treaty is that it paves the way to establish large-scale marine protected areas, which the 

 as the "ocean's equivalent of a Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park." 

That means, in about 30 percent of the world's oceans, damaging human activities like commercial fishing and oil gas drilling could be prohibited or limited.

"And the science tells us that is the single most important thing we can do to enhance ocean resilience in the face of growing threats related to climate change," Speer said

The treaty will also regulate countries and companies who can access and benefit sharing from the commercialization of "marine genetic resources," which can be useful for the creation of pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. 

According to Speer, who was part of the U.N. negotiating team, ensuring those resources will be shared in a fair and equitable way was a major point of tension in the negotiations.

"Who gets to decide what happens in this global commons was a fundamental issue on the table during the negotiations," she said. 

Similarly, the treaty is aimed at making research conducted in international waters more accessible and inclusive, especially for developing countries. 

major component of the agreement is setting global standards for environmental impact assessments on commercial activities in the ocean. These evaluations will also consider cumulative impact, or combined and incremental impacts

Speer from the NRDC said that implementing the treaty is not only crucial for the waters outside national jurisdictions, but also for the regions and countries within it. 

"It's important because billions of people around the world rely on the ocean for basic needs — their food, their jobs, their income, their sustenance, culturally as well as economically," she said.

After the yearslong effort to finalize the treaty, it is now up to

countries to decide whether they will adopt the treaty into domestic law. 

 the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was the last international treaty on ocean protection signed over 40 years ago.



"We have the text, so we have to turn this text into our reality," Martínez from AIDA said.


Environmental News

International

Juliana Kim

Author

Rachel Treisman

Right now, two-thirds of the ocean are regulated by a fragmented patchwork of agreements and organizations. This treaty plans to unite countries to improve the health of the ocean.

What to know about the new U.N. high seas treaty — and the next steps for the accord

Go Deeper.

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