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United Nations — The United Nations on Monday adopted the first-ever legally binding international treaty governing the high seas. Known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty (BBNJ), but widely referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the measure approved by the 193 U.N. member states imposes rules aimed at protecting the environment and heading off disputes over natural resources, shipping and other matters in waters beyond any country's national jurisdiction.
Until now, there has never been any international law governing the high seas, so many individuals and organizations hope the U.N.'s adoption of the measure will mark a clear turning point for vast stretches of the planet where conservation efforts have long struggled in a sort of wild west of exploration, overfishing, oil exploration and deep-sea mining.
"You have delivered," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the member nations Monday upon the treaty's adoption. "And you have done so at a critical time."
"To prevent a cascading of species extinctions, last year we universally agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework's target of protecting 30% of the planet's land and sea by 2030," Peter Thomson, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Oceans, told CBS News. "To reach that target, we'll have to establish Marine Protected Areas in the High Seas, and happily the BBNJ Treaty will give us the legal means to do that."
Until now, there has never been any international law governing the high seas, so many individuals and organizations hope the U.N.'s adoption of the measure will mark a clear turning point for vast stretches of the planet where conservation efforts have long struggled in a sort of wild west of exploration, overfishing, oil exploration and deep-sea mining.
"You have delivered," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the member nations Monday upon the treaty's adoption. "And you have done so at a critical time."
"To prevent a cascading of species extinctions, last year we universally agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework's target of protecting 30% of the planet's land and sea by 2030," Peter Thomson, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Oceans, told CBS News. "To reach that target, we'll have to establish Marine Protected Areas in the High Seas, and happily the BBNJ Treaty will give us the legal means to do that."
United Nations adopts high seas treaty, the first-ever pact to govern and protect international waters
The high seas treaty, once ratified by individual nations, will govern the use of international waters in a bid to protect ecosystems and head off disputes.
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