The Guardian view on the UN ocean treaty: arriving just in time
Editorial
Thu, 9 March 2023
Photograph: Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Upshaw/AP
In his 1968 essay The Tragedy of the Commons, the ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that resources which do not clearly belong to anyone are likely to be overexploited, since protecting them is in no one person’s interest. That tragedy is unfolding on the high seas – the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond coastal states’ national jurisdiction. This is a commons, where fishing and mining have been opened to all. The result is serious damage to a vital resource that covers almost half the planet’s surface. The high seas are not entirely lawless. Yet only a tiny fraction of these waters are protected from exploitation, despite harbouring the world’s marine wilderness and its unique biodiversity.
Beneath the waves lies a rich prize. Many scientists think the high seas harbour novel disease-fighting chemistry that might lead to new drugs. Until this month, there was no mechanism to prevent nations or companies monopolising the world’s marine genetic resources. One study in 2018 pointed out that BASF, which calls itself “the largest chemical producer in the world”, owned nearly half of the 13,000 patents derived from marine organisms. Mining exploration licences in the Pacific alone span an area almost as wide as the US. If deep sea extraction were permitted to go ahead, many warn, it would lead to biodiversity loss on an enormous scale.
The good news is that the agreement of a historic UN ocean treaty this month may help to slow the plunder. Crucially the deal keeps alive the 30x30 target – a pledge made by countries at the UN biodiversity conference in December that aims to protect 30% of sea (and land) by 2030. The treaty tries to accommodate both the global north’s desire for a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and the global south’s expectation that resources are seen as being common to all.
All this arrives not a moment too soon. The oceans are not an inexhaustible resource. Yet humanity treats them as if they are boundless. There are limits to how many animals and plants can be sustainably harvested for food and other products. Nor can humanity carry on dumping sewage and pollutants into the watery depths with little care for what damage is being done. In absorbing the carbon dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels, the oceans become much more acidic, threatening marine life. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that nearly 9% of saltwater species are at risk of extinction.
What is encouraging is that the delegates from 193 member states put aside their geopolitical differences to work together in the name of protecting the seas. The new treaty is crucial, as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said, for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
There is still some way to go. The new law must be ratified by 60 member states before it can be enforced. The final text contains a tension between the two principles of the “Freedom of the High Seas” and the “Common Heritage of Humankind”. One key test will be if traditional powers allow controlled access to marine genetic resources and for profits derived from the high seas to be equally shared among all states. The onus is on developed nations to act responsibly because, as Mr Hardin pointed out, too much “freedom in a commons brings ruin to all”.
Editorial
Thu, 9 March 2023
Photograph: Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Upshaw/AP
In his 1968 essay The Tragedy of the Commons, the ecologist Garrett Hardin argued that resources which do not clearly belong to anyone are likely to be overexploited, since protecting them is in no one person’s interest. That tragedy is unfolding on the high seas – the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond coastal states’ national jurisdiction. This is a commons, where fishing and mining have been opened to all. The result is serious damage to a vital resource that covers almost half the planet’s surface. The high seas are not entirely lawless. Yet only a tiny fraction of these waters are protected from exploitation, despite harbouring the world’s marine wilderness and its unique biodiversity.
Beneath the waves lies a rich prize. Many scientists think the high seas harbour novel disease-fighting chemistry that might lead to new drugs. Until this month, there was no mechanism to prevent nations or companies monopolising the world’s marine genetic resources. One study in 2018 pointed out that BASF, which calls itself “the largest chemical producer in the world”, owned nearly half of the 13,000 patents derived from marine organisms. Mining exploration licences in the Pacific alone span an area almost as wide as the US. If deep sea extraction were permitted to go ahead, many warn, it would lead to biodiversity loss on an enormous scale.
The good news is that the agreement of a historic UN ocean treaty this month may help to slow the plunder. Crucially the deal keeps alive the 30x30 target – a pledge made by countries at the UN biodiversity conference in December that aims to protect 30% of sea (and land) by 2030. The treaty tries to accommodate both the global north’s desire for a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and the global south’s expectation that resources are seen as being common to all.
All this arrives not a moment too soon. The oceans are not an inexhaustible resource. Yet humanity treats them as if they are boundless. There are limits to how many animals and plants can be sustainably harvested for food and other products. Nor can humanity carry on dumping sewage and pollutants into the watery depths with little care for what damage is being done. In absorbing the carbon dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels, the oceans become much more acidic, threatening marine life. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that nearly 9% of saltwater species are at risk of extinction.
What is encouraging is that the delegates from 193 member states put aside their geopolitical differences to work together in the name of protecting the seas. The new treaty is crucial, as the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said, for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
There is still some way to go. The new law must be ratified by 60 member states before it can be enforced. The final text contains a tension between the two principles of the “Freedom of the High Seas” and the “Common Heritage of Humankind”. One key test will be if traditional powers allow controlled access to marine genetic resources and for profits derived from the high seas to be equally shared among all states. The onus is on developed nations to act responsibly because, as Mr Hardin pointed out, too much “freedom in a commons brings ruin to all”.
Patrick Greenfield
THE GUARDIAN
Thu, 9 March 2023
Late last Saturday in New York, exhausted negotiators reached a landmark agreement on protecting life on Earth: the high seas treaty, the second big environment deal in just three months after Cop15, the biodiversity summit in Montreal. The moment, nearly two decades in the making, overwhelmed the president of the conference, Rena Lee, who cried as she announced that a deal had been done.
On paper at least, countries nearly have a complete strategy for action on the three planetary crises of our era: the climate emergency, biodiversity loss and pollution. Governments are still negotiating a UN agreement on plastics pollution, with another round of talks scheduled in Paris this year. But world leaders, business heads – all of us – know what we must do in the next decades to avoid disaster.
More urgently than ever, governments must stick to their word, and get on with what they have pledged. Maintaining a livable planet for future generations is on the line, says the UN acting biodiversity chief, David Cooper, who voiced cautious optimism that momentum was building, while also noting not enough is being done.
“Politicians are catching up with much of the public on this. Because people – and particularly young people and Indigenous people – see what is happening and they see what their future will be like without taking these actions. They have been pushing governments to act and I think what we saw in Montreal and again in New York is the result of that pressure. I think it’s very encouraging, despite all the other tensions we have in the world,” he says.
“[Delivering on the agreements] is really the difference between a livable planet in many parts of the world and one that is barely habitable for people,” he adds. “To some extent, the momentum was established in Montreal at Cop15, particularly with the target to protect 30% of land and sea. But we need agreements like the high seas treaty to meet that target.”
Here are the main points of the once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, called the Kunming-Montreal Global biodiversity framework:
30x30
Thu, 9 March 2023
Late last Saturday in New York, exhausted negotiators reached a landmark agreement on protecting life on Earth: the high seas treaty, the second big environment deal in just three months after Cop15, the biodiversity summit in Montreal. The moment, nearly two decades in the making, overwhelmed the president of the conference, Rena Lee, who cried as she announced that a deal had been done.
On paper at least, countries nearly have a complete strategy for action on the three planetary crises of our era: the climate emergency, biodiversity loss and pollution. Governments are still negotiating a UN agreement on plastics pollution, with another round of talks scheduled in Paris this year. But world leaders, business heads – all of us – know what we must do in the next decades to avoid disaster.
More urgently than ever, governments must stick to their word, and get on with what they have pledged. Maintaining a livable planet for future generations is on the line, says the UN acting biodiversity chief, David Cooper, who voiced cautious optimism that momentum was building, while also noting not enough is being done.
“Politicians are catching up with much of the public on this. Because people – and particularly young people and Indigenous people – see what is happening and they see what their future will be like without taking these actions. They have been pushing governments to act and I think what we saw in Montreal and again in New York is the result of that pressure. I think it’s very encouraging, despite all the other tensions we have in the world,” he says.
“[Delivering on the agreements] is really the difference between a livable planet in many parts of the world and one that is barely habitable for people,” he adds. “To some extent, the momentum was established in Montreal at Cop15, particularly with the target to protect 30% of land and sea. But we need agreements like the high seas treaty to meet that target.”
Here are the main points of the once-in-a-decade deal to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems, called the Kunming-Montreal Global biodiversity framework:
30x30
The most high-profile target at Cop15, the final wording commits governments to conserving nearly a third of Earth for nature by 2030, while respecting indigenous and traditional territories in the expansion of new protected areas.
Indigenous rights
Indigenous rights
Indigenous peoples are mentioned 18 times, which some activists are pointing to as a historic victory. The language in the text is clear: Indigenous-led conservation models must become the norm this decade.
Subsidies
The final text says harmful subsidies should be reduced by at least $500bn a year by the end of the decade. It does not specify whether they should be eliminated, phased out or reformed, but this is recognised as one of the strongest parts of the agreement.
Business
Although the language was watered down in the final text, target 15 requires governments to ensure that large and transnational companies disclose “their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity”.
Digital biopiracy
Digital sequence information (DSI) refers to digitised genetic information that we get from nature, which is frequently used to produce new drugs, vaccines and food products. It was agreed to develop a funding mechanism on DSI in the coming years, which has been hailed as a historic victory for African states, who called for its creation before the summit.
A link to all of the documents agreed at Cop15 can be found here.
Other senior UN figures have greeted the agreements with cautious optimism, acknowledging the spirit of multilateralism amid tensions between great powers on the economy and the invasion of Ukraine.
“I think that on the pollution side as well as on the biodiversity side, there is a focus that we haven’t seen for decades. That, I celebrate,” says Inger Andersen, the executive director of the UN environment programme. “It’s never enough. We are on a trajectory on climate that is not good.”
But, she adds: “What is really exciting is that we are able to come to the end of the road on some of these critical issues. Loss and damage, it has been on the docket for a while, it was agreed in spite of the complexity. Getting the plastics negotiations going and moving forward – we have the second round in Paris in May – was very difficult but we got [the process going]. Divisions come up all the time but we have made some real strides in the last couple of years.”
Subsidies
The final text says harmful subsidies should be reduced by at least $500bn a year by the end of the decade. It does not specify whether they should be eliminated, phased out or reformed, but this is recognised as one of the strongest parts of the agreement.
Business
Although the language was watered down in the final text, target 15 requires governments to ensure that large and transnational companies disclose “their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity”.
Digital biopiracy
Digital sequence information (DSI) refers to digitised genetic information that we get from nature, which is frequently used to produce new drugs, vaccines and food products. It was agreed to develop a funding mechanism on DSI in the coming years, which has been hailed as a historic victory for African states, who called for its creation before the summit.
A link to all of the documents agreed at Cop15 can be found here.
Other senior UN figures have greeted the agreements with cautious optimism, acknowledging the spirit of multilateralism amid tensions between great powers on the economy and the invasion of Ukraine.
“I think that on the pollution side as well as on the biodiversity side, there is a focus that we haven’t seen for decades. That, I celebrate,” says Inger Andersen, the executive director of the UN environment programme. “It’s never enough. We are on a trajectory on climate that is not good.”
But, she adds: “What is really exciting is that we are able to come to the end of the road on some of these critical issues. Loss and damage, it has been on the docket for a while, it was agreed in spite of the complexity. Getting the plastics negotiations going and moving forward – we have the second round in Paris in May – was very difficult but we got [the process going]. Divisions come up all the time but we have made some real strides in the last couple of years.”
China’s environment minister, Huang Runqiu, with the then Cop15 executive secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema and deputy executive secretary David Cooper, in Kunming in 2021. The summit set the course for the biodiversity agreement signed in Montreal in December 2022.
Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock
It is easy to dismiss multilateral efforts on the environment. Many aim to avoid awful realities that we hope are never realised, often building in destruction in the short and medium terms as part of the deal, while humanity slowly responds.
The exasperating pace of change is made worse by scientific assessments about the health of the planet that have become increasingly alarming, with experts warning that more than 1 million species are at risk of extinction, threatening the function of ecosystems that sustain human civilisation.
Related: High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN
Overfishing, plastics pollution and the continued consumption of fossil fuels are some of the drivers of the environmental losses. Now many governments are, at least, recognising the scale of the problem.
While action on the climate, biodiversity loss and pollution has a history of half-met promises, the world has successfully come together on some issues, including the 1987 Montreal protocol on the ozone layer, which continues to recover successfully. In January, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said it was “an encouraging example of what the world can achieve when we work together”.
Li Shuo, a policy adviser for Greenpeace east Asia who was at Cop15 in Canada and at the high seas negotiations in New York, said that China would have a key role to play in meeting the international agreements. Beijing held the presidency at the biodiversity summit in Canada and, in partnership with the Canadians, help shepherd talks to a successful conclusion despite a series of tensions.
The high seas treaty “brings marine protection into the 21st century”, says Li. “Building on the recent success of biodiversity Cop15, the high seas treaty will help fulfil the 30x30 target. This success indicates that environmental progress and multilateralism can still triumph despite challenging geopolitical conditions. China is a critical country in these negotiations. Its willingness to upgrade marine governance is a key element to unlock the deal.
“I feel very much privileged to have been able to experience what a veteran observer told me was the most exciting moment in ocean lawmaking in decades. This is really a very consistent storyline: an arc from Montreal to New York. The global community is able to strengthen biodiversity governance on land and at sea. It is a very exciting moment despite the challenging geopolitics,” he says.
Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features
It is easy to dismiss multilateral efforts on the environment. Many aim to avoid awful realities that we hope are never realised, often building in destruction in the short and medium terms as part of the deal, while humanity slowly responds.
The exasperating pace of change is made worse by scientific assessments about the health of the planet that have become increasingly alarming, with experts warning that more than 1 million species are at risk of extinction, threatening the function of ecosystems that sustain human civilisation.
Related: High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN
Overfishing, plastics pollution and the continued consumption of fossil fuels are some of the drivers of the environmental losses. Now many governments are, at least, recognising the scale of the problem.
While action on the climate, biodiversity loss and pollution has a history of half-met promises, the world has successfully come together on some issues, including the 1987 Montreal protocol on the ozone layer, which continues to recover successfully. In January, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said it was “an encouraging example of what the world can achieve when we work together”.
Li Shuo, a policy adviser for Greenpeace east Asia who was at Cop15 in Canada and at the high seas negotiations in New York, said that China would have a key role to play in meeting the international agreements. Beijing held the presidency at the biodiversity summit in Canada and, in partnership with the Canadians, help shepherd talks to a successful conclusion despite a series of tensions.
The high seas treaty “brings marine protection into the 21st century”, says Li. “Building on the recent success of biodiversity Cop15, the high seas treaty will help fulfil the 30x30 target. This success indicates that environmental progress and multilateralism can still triumph despite challenging geopolitical conditions. China is a critical country in these negotiations. Its willingness to upgrade marine governance is a key element to unlock the deal.
“I feel very much privileged to have been able to experience what a veteran observer told me was the most exciting moment in ocean lawmaking in decades. This is really a very consistent storyline: an arc from Montreal to New York. The global community is able to strengthen biodiversity governance on land and at sea. It is a very exciting moment despite the challenging geopolitics,” he says.
Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features
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