Rena Lee announced that more than 100 countries would protect 30% of the high seas of the Earth. “The ship has reached the shore” she said at the United Nations headquarters in New York. It was shortly before 9:30 PM on Saturday, 4 March 2023.
Nations have secured U.N. global high seas biodiversity pact.
The Half-Earth movement is gaining momentum.
Now, what does that mean?
A UN treaty will protect the high seas for the first time in history.
The legally binding agreement goes in the same direction as defenders of the Half-Earth strategy, such as our friend Tony Hiss (read the full interview here). Proponents of the Half-Earth theory see how scientific evidence shows that it is possible to save much more biodiversity if we protect at least half of the spaces where they live.
What that biology is teaching us is that if we stay at 30% of the Earth’s land conserved, only about a quarter of the species will survive, whereas if we increase these protected areas to 50%, the survival rate will increase from 85% to 90%. The challenge is to bring that up to 30% and then to 50%.
Tony Hiss, award-winnig author
More than 100 countries will protect 30% of the High Seas of the Earth after a marathon of talks
“The ship has reached the shore,” the U.N. conference president, Rena Lee, said after a marathon final day of talks.
The treaty is seen as a crucial component in global efforts. Countries want to bring 30% of the world’s land and sea under protection by the end of the decade. This target is known as “30 by 30” as agreed in Montreal in December 2022.
Economic interests were a central sticking point throughout the latest round of negotiations. Also, sharing the benefits of “marine genetic resources” used in industries like biotechnology remained an area of contention. Until the end, these subjects were dragging out talks.
About 11 million square km (4.2 million square miles) the of ocean needs to be put under protection. And this should happen every year until 2030 to meet the target.
From This is My Earth‘s perspective, we value the initiative positively. We are happy that policymakers use international collaboration and work to achieve improvements.
We want to make a call not to stop trying to save nature.
The animals and plants that live in remote ecosystems directly impact our health.
We welcome the agreement and encourage its promoters to bring it to schools and educational programs.
Very little of the high seas is subject to any protection, with pollution, acidification, and overfishing posing a growing threat.
“Countries must formally adopt the treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs,” said Laura Meller. She is a Greenpeace Ocean campaigner who attended the talks.
“The clock is still ticking to deliver 30 by 30. We have half a decade left and can’t be complacent.”
100 countries will protect 30% of the high seas of the Earth, but on our planet, there are many more!
Many lands of the Earth are in private hands
Governments and States must do everything possible to conserve the lands that belong to them. But there are many lands rich in animals and plants in private hands.
We hope you can buy them through crowdfunding and donate them to local communities and conservation NGOs. In this way, we will achieve the commitment of those who live around these plants and animals.
We will build a global community of empowered donors and critical thinkers.
We believe citizens can become co-responsible and co-owners of their planet and protect it forever. Seeing how more than 100 countries will protect 30% of the high seas of the Earth is something to be proud of.
And we think we are the best tool:
With 100% transparency and voluntary work based on science and democracy, we can succeed.
Join in!
and get our latest conservation news, project