Source: Chinadialogue Ocean
Author: Li Jing
The ocean is home to millions of species, many of which are still unknown to humans. It supplies us with oxygen and each year absorbs nearly 25% of the greenhouse gases we produce by burning fossil fuels. However, vast areas of the high seas, which cover nearly half of the Earth’s surface, remain unregulated.
Continue reading High seas treaty: race for rights to ocean’s genetic resources
Source: World Economic Forum
Author: Johnny Wood
The total number of animals has halved since the 1970s in what some scientists have termed the start of Earth’s sixth mass extinction.
Seismic eruptions, ice ages, continental collision and asteroid impact are thought to be some of the causes of the previous five mass extinctions. This time though, humans are to blame. Never before has a single species exerted such influence on the planet and the evolution of its inhabitants, or put its own survival in such jeopardy.
Continue reading 3 reasons we should all care about biodiversity
Source: Science
Author: Alex Fox
No flag can claim the high seas, but many nations exploit them. As a result, life in the two-thirds of the oceans beyond any country’s territorial waters faces many threats that are largely unregulated, including overfishing and the emerging deep-sea mining industry.
Continue reading First ever high-seas conservation treaty would protect life in international waters
Source: Reuters
Author: Zoe Tabary
Ransom-hungry pirates, polar explorers, offshore oil giants – the race for the riches of the world’s final frontier is on.
From Thailand to Alaska, the battle to tap ever-dwindling resources from minerals to fish is spurring new conflicts over who has the right to the treasures of the deep seas.
Continue reading The final frontier: who owns the oceans and their hidden treasures?
Source: Nature Conservancy
Author: Maria Damanaki
There’s a proverb I’m fond of: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” I thought of this proverb as I followed the recent UN negotiations around a treaty to establish international governance for the high seas.
The high seas—the part of the ocean that lies outside of any national territory—cover almost 50 percent of the planet, but as of now they are subject to few regulations of any kind. The proposed UN treaty aims to establish guidelines “for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.” With three more negotiation sessions to come, the goal is to ratify by the spring of 2020.
Continue reading What Happens If We Don’t Protect the High Seas?
Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts
Author: Liz Karan
Meeting in New York, London lay groundwork to protect vast ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Continue reading Governments Start Formal Talks on High Seas Treaty
Source: BBC
Author: Roger Harrabin
New rules are urgently needed to protect life in the open seas, scientists have warned.
A report to a UN ocean conference in New York points out that more than 60% of the ocean has no conservation rules as it’s outside national jurisdiction.
From 1-3 December 2011, the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the IUCN Environmental Law Centre (ELC) jointly organized an international seminar on the “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction”.
Continue reading Summary Report on BfN-IUCN Seminar on Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
Last week, the UN BBNJ meeting ended with a surprisingly good result. At the ’11th hour’, just 20 minutes before the UN interpreters had to finish for the day, a promising compromise was reached.
Continue reading A Strong Outcome at the 4th UN BBNJ Meeting
DSCC members attended the third ad hoc informal working group meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (known as BBNJ), at the United Nations 1st – 5th February 2010. The meeting was convened to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.
Continue reading DSCC Members Attend UN Meeting on Biodiversity
