Closing the conference on Friday, Panamanian Secretary of State Janaina Tewaney announced “341 new commitments” to combat pollution, illegal fishing and other marine threats, for $19.97 billion in funding.
At this forum, France announced that it had joined the tropical Pacific conservation “corridor” created by the United States, Panama and Fiji to “expand cooperation in the service of protecting the oceans and marine biodiversity,” the statement said French Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville.
In December, world governments agreed to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030. An impossible challenge without considering the high seas, only about 1% of which is sheltered.
The high seas begin where the states’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) end, a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast, so it does not fall under the jurisdiction of any country.
Despite making up more than 60% of the oceans and almost half the planet, it has long been ignored as attention has focused on coastal areas and emblematic species.
Race against time at the UN
In parallel, on Saturday morning, after a sleepless night, the member countries of the United Nations continued to work to overcome their divisions and reach an agreement to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers half the planet.
After fifteen years of informal and formal exchanges, the negotiators are already several hours past the two weeks of the third round of talks in less than a year in New York.
Negotiations have been a rollercoaster ride over the past few days and delegates were still meeting behind closed doors on Saturday morning.
“We still have some issues to resolve, but we are making progress and delegations are showing flexibility,” conference chair Rena Lee said in a brief plenary session held around 1:30 a.m. local time.
The highly political chapter on sharing potential benefits from marine genetic resources was missing from the final draft text.
“It is clear that they are still trying with all their might to get an agreement, otherwise they would have already thrown in the towel,” said Nathalie Rey from the High Seas Alliance, which brings together around 40 NGOs.