Source: Greenpeace
In a landmark moment for ocean protection, the Global Ocean Treaty has now been ratified by 60 countries, meaning the historic agreement can now enter into force. The agreement will allow for the creation of marine protected areas on the High Seas.
Greenpeace Aotearoa is welcoming this news as a win for ocean protection and people power, saying it’s the result of years of campaigning from millions of people around the globe, but is urging the New Zealand Government to also ratify the Treaty.
Greenpeace spokesperson Ellie Hooper says:
“Today we celebrate a truly historic moment in the fight to protect this blue planet that we call home
“With 60 ratifications now in place, we can now get on with the vital work of creating vast ocean sanctuaries on the high seas, places where ocean life will be protected from threats like destructive bottom trawling and the emerging risk of new industries such as deep sea mining
“New Zealand has signed the Treaty but is yet to ratify. Now is the time for the government to commit to real ocean protection, following in the steps of our Pacific neighbours who are leading the way. We are calling on the New Zealand government to ratify the Treaty and get on board with creating high seas sanctuaries to protect the ocean for the future.”
Currently less than 0.9% of international waters are either fully or partly protected. The Global Ocean Treaty, or High Seas Treaty, is the legal mechanism that will allow the creation of a network of ocean sanctuaries around the globe – including in the Tasman Sea between Aotearoa and Australia.
“Right now one of the biggest threats to the vibrant international waters of the Tasman Sea is the New Zealand bottom trawling fleet, the only country to continue to crush coral and kill marine life here with this highly destructive form of fishing. Bottom trawling must stop so ocean protection can start”, says Hooper.
The Treaty was agreed to by UN member states in 2023 , but could not pass into law until 60 countries had ratified it, a milestone which was reached today.
It will enter into force in 120 days, paving the way for the first-ever Ocean Conference of the Parties (COP), likely taking place in 2026. Greenpeace is calling on all remaining countries to ratify the Treaty quickly and before the world’s first Ocean COP.
Mads Christensen, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, says: “This is a landmark moment for protecting the ocean, and proof that countries can come together to protect our blue planet. The era of exploitation and destruction must end, and the Global Ocean Treaty is the tool to make that happen. But we must not get complacent.
“Scientists are clear that we need to protect at least 30% of our ocean by 2030, and time is running out. Governments around the world must use this time now to ensure the first historic Ocean COP becomes a turning point, and start to develop plans for the first-ever sanctuaries under the Treaty. Our ocean can’t wait and neither can we.”
Environmentalists say immediate action is required from nations to start developing plans for high seas sanctuaries, as time is running out to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, a target which governments have already agreed to:
- Governments must now mobilise to use the next few months before the first Ocean COP to start working on developing new high seas sanctuaries. These areas must be fully or highly protected to ensure that vast areas of the ocean are closed to extractive and destructive human activities, unlike many current Marine Protected Areas which are protected in name only.
- Governments must ensure that the Treaty has the power to implement measures quickly, without being tied up in delays or having to rely on bodies like Regional Fisheries Management Organisations which have overseen the depletion of the ocean for decades.[2]
- Governments need to ensure that the development of sanctuaries are based on robust scientific evidence and with participation from Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ensure the process is driven by science and socially just.
