The open ocean is home to some of the richest, and most remote, bounties of nature whose health is vital for the planet and humanity’s survival. Read more at straitstimes.com.
High seas biodiversity treaty is a key piece of the global conservation jigsaw, and is urgently needed as threats grow.
The open ocean is home to some of the richest, and most remote, bounties of nature and its well-being But the work is far from done and the art of diplomacy will be needed more than ever to put the treaty into action and to activate one of its key tools – the creation of marine protected areas, or MPAs. If properly designed and managed, these can act as safe havensThe treaty, also known as “BBNJ” , will for the first time guide the creation of MPAs on the high seas.
“The thing about marine reserves is that they’re leaky and that means that they can leak benefits into the surrounding fishing grounds. When you protect an area from fishing, what happens is that the fish live longer, they grow larger, they produce many, many times more offspring,” said Dr Roberts, a professor of marine conservation in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus.
A study published in the journal Nature in 2014 identified key characteristics of effective MPAs and showed that the conservation benefits of these areas increase exponentially with the presence of five key features: no take, well enforced, old , large , and isolated by deep water or sand. No take refers to prohibiting the extraction or significant destruction of natural or cultural resources.
The problem is that the fishing industry is heavily subsidised by many governments and the financial incentives are not focused on sustainable fishing, he said. None more so than in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most overfished areas. Apart from unsustainable catches, studies have warned of the growing threats from warmer waters and rampant illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Under the treaty, only states can propose areas that need protection and they need to provide scientific evidence to support this as well as outline the threats to the area. Details on how to enforce an MPA need to be spelled out, too. “The spatial management is going to be difficult. There’s no question,” said Dr Game, referring to MPAs. “We’ve got examples of just how difficult it is from CCAMLR,” he said, referring to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, a separate conservation body.
BBNJ fills a gap in Unclos by enhancing the international legal regime on conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity on the high seas.
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