New York, 27 February 2023 – As UN Ocean Treaty negotiations enter the final week, Greenpeace is calling for ministers to engage urgently to ensure an agreement is reached that would enable ocean protection in international waters.
The Global Oceans Treaty negotiations have just entered their second week at the UN Headquarters in New York, but have hit roadblocks. Civil society groups are now increasingly concerned that major disagreements between nations are stalling the negotiations – putting the goal of vast ocean sanctuaries on the high seas at risk.
Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper, who is at the negotiations, says it’s essential that delegations show flexibility, and that ministers – including Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta – actively engage with other nations to iron out issues and secure the Treaty.
“Nobody wants a dead, empty ocean,” says Hooper.
“If done right, a Global Ocean Treaty would pave the way for vast ocean sanctuaries on the high seas, huge areas where marine life is protected from the ravages of commercial fishing and other industries, and given a chance to recover and thrive.
“World leaders have committed to getting this agreement across the line, in order to tackle the ocean crisis we face. But what we’re seeing on the ground here is a distinct lack of urgency to get this done.
“New Zealand backs a strong position on marine protected areas but must ensure that the Treaty is fair and equitable for all – and be flexible around issues of finance, capacity building and the monetary benefit sharing of Marine Genetic Resources.
“We need this Treaty because the current fragmented system of ocean governance has failed. Allowing industry specific regional bodies, including fisheries management orgs, to look after their own interests has led to ocean collapse – that’s why we need this agreement in the first place.
“Sadly, it seems some countries have forgotten why they are here. The purpose of these negotiations is to protect ocean biodiversity, not the status quo,” says Hooper.
Activists representing civil society groups made their demands clear outside the UN today, sending a clear message to delegates with a vast banner reading “Ocean Treaty Now”.
A strong UN Ocean Treaty, would allow the creation of fully and highly protected ocean sanctuaries and is of fundamental importance to deliver the 30×30 target at sea. Scientists say that protecting 30% of global oceans by 2030 is the minimum needed to mitigate the climate and biodiversity crises .
Governments agreed to the 30×30 target as part of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022. Without an Ocean Treaty, there is no current legal route to protecting large areas of international waters in ocean sanctuaries.
Hooper says: “High Ambition Coalition leaders – those who have pledged to back a strong Treaty – must now engage with counterparts in the G77 group and China, at the highest possible political levels, to seek compromises that can get a Treaty over the finishing line.
“Time is up and countries must speed up the progress of negotiations, stop reopening settled issues and deploying other delaying tactics. This is the final week of negotiations – they need to start acting like it.”
From destructive fishing and mining, to climate change – the threats facing our oceans are growing greater by the day. We urgently need a network of ocean sanctuaries across the globe to protect them.
