A key ocean contract crosses a critical threshold to enter into force

The global agreement intended to protect the ocean and the return damage to maritime should become international law.

On Friday, Morocco received a treaty on the Great Sea, which means that he will come into force from January.

A transaction that has been in the creation will pave the way to the placement of international waters in marine protected areas.

Environmentalists conducted milestones as a “monumental achievement” and evidence that countries could work together to protect the environment.

“By covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement establishes mandatory rules for maintaining and sustainable use of maritime biodiversity,” said the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guteres.

Decades of redirecting, pollution from the delivery and warming of the oceans from climate change damaged life under the surface.

In the last assessment of marine species, almost 10% are at risk of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (MSA) reports.

Three years ago, the countries agreed that 30% of national and international waters were to be protected by 2030 to help the exhausted marine life.

But the open sea protection is a difficult task. No country controls these waters, and all nations have the right to send and fish.

Currently, only 1% of the open seas are protected, leaving sea life under threat of ultra -payment.

Thus, in 2023 the countries signed The Open Sea Treaty It is obliged to put 30% of these waters in the marine protective territories.

But it was able to introduce power only if more than 60 countries have ratified – that is They agreed to be legally bound by this.

With many countries that require parliamentary approval, ratification can often take more than five years, Elizabeth Wilson, Senior Director for Environmental Policy in the Environmental Organization The Pews Charectiple Trust, the BBC said at the UN Conference earlier this year. She said it was a “recording time.”

The UK presented its bill to ratifying to parliament earlier this month.

Kirsten Shime, CEO of WWF International, greeted a “monumental achievement for the ocean” after reaching the contract’s threshold.

She added: “The open seas contract will become a positive catalyst for cooperation in international waters and agreements and is a turning point for two -thirds of the ocean that goes beyond the national jurisdiction.”

Mads Christensen, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, called it a “landmark moment” and “proof that countries can gather to protect our blue planet.”

“The era of exploitation and destruction must end. Our oceans can’t wait and we can’t,” he added.

Once the contract enters into force, the countries offer to protect the areas and they will vote to the countries that sign the contract.

Critics point out that the countries will conduct its own environmental impact assessment (EIA) and make a final decision – although other countries may register problems with the monitoring bodies.

The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. This is the largest ecosystem, it is estimated to make $ 2.5 trillion to the global economy and provides up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe.