After decades of legal vacuum, on January 17, the United Nations High Seas Treatya historic milestone that establishes, for the first time, a global regulatory framework to protect marine biodiversity in international waters.
The treaty represents an important step forward in efforts to ensure the health of ocean ecosystems for decades to come. The legally binding text covers oceanic areas that are outside national waters (high seas) and the international seabed area, seeking to put a stop to the crisis caused by climate change, the loss of biodiversity and pollution.
Nearly ninety countries have ratified the agreementincorporating it into its national legislation. Among them, powers such as China, Germany, Japan, France, Brazil and Spain stand out, which have taken the decisive step to protect the oceans. China’s influence is especially relevant due to its weight in maritime industries and the export of ocean goods.
The legal text empowers the international community to create Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in international waters and requires transparent environmental impact assessments to be carried out. Scientific literature supports the effectiveness of these reserves. A recent investigation published by the journal Nature concluded that an ambitious increase in protected areas generates an immediate triple benefit: shielding biodiversity, collaterally increasing the performance of the fishing sector and securing underwater carbon deposits retained in mangroves and deep sediments.
A thermal shield to the limit
For the United Nations, the urgency of implementing the new treaty lies in the progressive deterioration of the global “climate machine.” The ocean captures 90% of the excess heat generated by climate change; a regulatory function without which the average temperature of the Earth would be several degrees higher than it is today.
However, scientists warn that this environmental shielding comes at a critical price. According to data from the PBS corporation, seawater acidification has already increased by 30% compared to pre-industrial levels. Projections indicate that, at the current rate of emissions, this indicator could skyrocket an additional 120% by the year 2100. The danger is immediate: warmer, more acidic waters drastically lose their ability to absorb carbon, which threatens to transform the ocean from a protective shield to a direct accelerator of global warming.
Engine of the Blue Economy
Beyond its environmental impact, all reports consolidate the ocean as a strategic pillar for human survival. Currently, it is the main source of protein for nearly 3 billion people and the direct economic support of hundreds of millions of families in coastal communities, with special impact on developing countries and small island states. In fact, according to UNEP, if the ocean were a country, it would be the seventh largest economy in the world,
The scientific field also looks with expectation toward the ocean depths. To date, more than 30,000 unique molecules have been isolated in marine organisms (NIH). This biological library has already given rise to 23 approved drugs and maintains another 33 in the clinical trial phase, opening cutting-edge lines of research against cancer, immunological disorders and chronic pain. As well as biotechnologies ranging from alternatives to plastic to DNA libraries essential for research.
But the work to transform the treaty text into something that can allow for changes in the waters has so far “just begun,” as Rebecca Hubbard, the director of the High Seas Alliance, recently commented.