The high seas cover nearly half of the Earth's surface area and 64% of the global ocean surface.

However, such vast and important geospatial resources have lacked effective international public governance and faced severe pressure of ecological damage.

　　However, the "historic" agreement reached by nearly 200 member states of the United Nations on the protection of biodiversity in the global high seas may write a new chapter to change this situation.

　　one

　　On the evening of March 4 local time, after nearly 20 years of negotiations, nearly 200 member states of the United Nations reached an agreement on the final text of the legal framework for the protection of marine biodiversity in the high seas.

　　The high seas refer to the sea areas beyond the 200 nautical mile limit of the exclusive economic zone of the coastal state (from the deep seabed to the upper sky) and beyond the limit of the continental shelf of each country (that is, 370 kilometers from the coast).

　　The goal of the Treaty on Biodiversity on the High Seas is to designate 30% of the global ocean as protected areas by 2030, seek to establish large-scale marine protected areas on the high seas, and limit exploration activities such as fishing, shipping routes, and deep-sea mining. The treaty also, for the first time, requires an assessment of the impact of economic activities on biodiversity in marine protected areas on the high seas to protect and restore marine ecology.

　　According to the treaty, developing countries will have the opportunity to obtain the transfer of marine technology from developed countries to better participate in and implement the new treaty.

In addition, several countries have made commitments to provide funding for biodiversity conservation in the high seas, totaling an estimated US$18 billion.

　　United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement that night, saying that the agreement on the above-mentioned final text was of "historic significance" and a "breakthrough" in the related negotiations that began in 2004. Biodiversity reduction and pollution are of great significance.

　　Guterres said that the finalization of the text of the "Treaty on the High Seas" is crucial to achieving the goals and targets related to oceans in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework".

The Framework sets the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the world's land and seas by 2030.

　　two

　　The ocean plays a decisive role in the global environment and ecological balance, and the high seas, which account for more than 60% of the world's ocean area, can be said to "affect the whole body" in terms of the earth's ecology.

　　For example, plankton living in the oceans are responsible for half of the planet's photosynthetic activity, and a large portion of this activity takes place in the open ocean; in addition, the open oceans mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon, storing solar radiation, and distributing heat globally. impact of change.

　　In addition, although the current development of marine biological resources by humans is mainly in the nearshore and offshore areas, the amount of marine biological resources and the replenishment of genetic material mainly depend on the rich biodiversity resources in the far sea, especially in the high seas.

Once the ecological environment of the high seas is damaged, the supply chain of offshore organisms will break and collapse.

　　However, the vast high seas have also been disturbed by human activities for many years.

　　Studies have shown that since the 1980s, the ocean has absorbed 20% to 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, which has led to ocean acidification and adversely affected the distribution and reproductive development of marine species.

　　It is estimated that more than 60% of the world's coral reefs are threatened by ocean acidification, ocean warming and other human-induced events.

As oceans continue to warm and acidify, the frequency of large-scale coral bleaching events continues to increase.

　　Overfishing is another issue that threatens marine biodiversity.

Nearly 10 percent of marine species were found to be at risk of extinction in the latest assessment of the world's marine species, according to the latest figures from the IUCN.

Due to imperfect fishing management on the high seas, overfishing has also occurred. For example, the stock of Pacific bluefin tuna stocks is only 3% of the historical level.

　　three

　　Compared with the offshore waters belonging to the territorial waters of various countries, the degree of governance and protection of the high seas by the international community is much lower.

According to reports, currently only 1.2% of the world's high seas are protected, and only 0.8% are identified as "highly protected".

　　Since the 1990s, with the increase of human sea-related activities, the pressure on the resources and environment of the high seas has increased.

With the establishment of coastal state exclusive economic zones, archipelagic waters and other national jurisdiction waters, a large number of ocean-going fishing vessels have to be transferred to high seas operations outside the national jurisdiction, and the fishing pressure on the high seas has increased sharply; in addition, with the development of marine exploration technology and equipment With the improvement of the level, the exploration activities of deep-sea mineral resources have increased, and it has also had an increasing impact on the ecological balance of the high seas.

　　However, while the marine habitats of the high seas are threatened by many aspects and the marine environment is deteriorating continuously, due to the special legal nature of the high seas, the existing international regulations cannot meet the increasingly severe needs of high seas governance, prompting all forces in the international community to actively promote the adoption of new Management measures and means to regulate various activities to develop and utilize marine space and resources, and to avoid irreversible damage to vulnerable high seas habitats caused by disorderly development.

　　In the 21st century, with the protection of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, the international community has attached great importance to it.

Since 2002, the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development has passed resolutions, setting two goals: eliminating illegal fishing on the high seas and establishing high seas protected areas.

　　The final text of the Treaty on Biological Diversity on the High Seas reached this time aims to fill in the gaps in marine protected areas in the high seas.

Analysts say it is critical to meeting the global biodiversity commitments countries made at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal last December.