A global agreement that has been designed to protect the oceans of the world and reverse the damage to marine life will become international law.
The Hoogzee treaty received its 60th ratification on Friday by Morocco, which means that it will now come into force from January.
The deal, which has been in the making for two decades, will clear the way for international waters that can be placed in protected areas in the navy.
Environmental activists heralded the milestone as a “monumental performance” and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection.
“With more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement establishes binding rules to preserve and use marine biodiversity in the marine,” said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the United Nations.
For decades of overfishing, pollution through shipping and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface.
In the latest assessment of marine species, almost 10% turned out to be the risk of extinguishing, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Three years ago, countries agreed that 30% of the world’s national and international waters – high seas – should be protected by 2030 to help recover marine life.
But protecting the high seas is a challenge. No country checks these waters and all countries have the right to send and fish there.
Currently, only 1% of the high seas are protected, causing life at sea to run through over -exploitation.
So in 2023, countries signed the Hoogzee treaty to place 30% of these waters in protected marine areas.
But it was only able to enter strength if more than 60 countries would assess it – which means that they agreed to be legally tied to it.
With many countries that need approval from parliament, ratification can often take more than five years, Elizabeth Wilson, senior director of the environmental policy at Environmental NGO The Pews Charitable Trust, said earlier this year at the BBC on the UN Oceans Conference. She said this was “record time”.
Earlier this month, the VK introduced its bill for ratification in parliament.
Kirsten Schuijn, director -general of WWF International, greeted “a monumental performance for ocean retention” after the treaty threshold had been reached.
She added: “The Hoogzee Convention will be a positive catalyst for cooperation between international waters and similarities and is a turning point for two-thirds of the ocean of the world that are outside the national jurisdiction.”
Mads Christensen, executive director of Greenpeace International, called it “a milestone moment” and “proof that countries can come together to protect our Blue Planet”.
“The era of exploitation and destruction must end. Our oceans can’t wait and we can’t,” he added.
As soon as the treaty enters into force, countries will represent areas that must be protected, and these will then be voted by the countries that register with the Convention.
Critics point out that countries will carry out their own environmental impact assessments (EIA) and make the final decision – although other countries can register with the monitoring agencies.
The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. It is the largest ecosystem, an estimated $ 2.5 trillion on the global economies and offers up to 80% of the oxygen that we breathe.
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