UN High Seas Treaty

Context: The United Nations aims to protect the High Seas as they make up more than 60% of the world’s oceans.

What are High Seas?

• Definition: The high seas are defined by international law as, all parts of the ocean that aren’t included in the exclusive economic zone, the territorial sea, or the internal waters of a country.
  • This essentially means that the high seas and associated resources are not directly owned or regulated by any country.
• Internal Waters: Covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline. The State is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource.
• Territorial Waters: Extend up to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14 miles) from the baseline. The coastal State is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource.
• Contiguous Zone: Extends further 12 nautical miles beyond the territorial waters.

The State can enforce laws in four specific areas – customs, taxation, immigration, and pollution.

• Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs): EEZs extent up to 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources.

What is the Proposed UN High Seas Treaty?

• About: Also referred to as the ‘Paris Agreement for the Ocean’, the treaty deals with Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and has been under discussion for several years.
  • The proposed treaty concerns the ocean existing beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones till where it has special rights for exploration.
• Negotiation: The treaty was to be negotiated under the United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) which governs the rights of countries regarding marine resources.
  • As there is no treaty for conserving the health of vast swathes of the earth’s oceans, a UN resolution in 2017 had decided to rectify this while setting 2022 as the deadline.
• Key areas of focus:
  •  The conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ); 
  •  Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs: Biological material from plants and animals in the ocean that can have benefits for society, such as pharmaceuticals, industrial processes and food), including questions on benefit-sharing;
  •  Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs);
  • Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA); 
  • Capacity-building and the Transfer of Marine Technology (CB&TMT)

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982.
•  It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.
  • It does not specify how States should conserve and sustainably use high seas biodiversity.
•  It also regulates activities in international waters, including sea-bed mining and cable laying.
• India became a signatory to the UNCLOS in 1982. 

Why is the Treaty Needed?

• Vastness of the Ocean: The high seas span two-thirds of the ocean and cover half the planet and supply a third of the world’s oxygen.

• Energy and Trade: It is important to protect the ocean in order to generate sustainable wave and tidal energy, as well as for the production of commodities.
• Biodiversity: The high seas are among the last truly wild places on earth.  They are home to bountiful marine biodiversity, including some of our most iconic and valued species.
  • They are also home to remarkable ecosystems, such as towering seamounts and deep-water coral gardens. 
• 30×30 target:  According to scientists, it is critical to conserve at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30) to support healthy marine ecosystems and biodiversity globally.
  •  Currently, less than 1% of the high seas are in marine protected areas. 
• Climate change: Conserving the high seas through marine protected areas is not only good for biodiversity, but also critical for our climate.
  • More than half of the total amount of oxygen in our atmosphere is created by creatures in the ocean.
  • At the same time, oceans store 50 times more carbon dioxide than what’s currently found in our atmosphere.
• Medicines: Some agents living in deep seas and oceans have the ability to treat variety of diseases, such as leukemia.
• Lack of Legal Framework: States do not have a mechanism to create and manage such a network in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

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