Hawaii’s position in the middle of the Pacific affords a clear view of the connection among distant marine ecosystems. And that’s why environmental advocates here and around the world are cheering a new international treaty offering international protection of the high seas.
It is essential if the open ocean that sustains the world is to survive for future generations.
After decades of intermittent talks that finally reached a turning point in recent weeks, United Nations members on Saturday reached a deal to protect biodiversity in the high seas — comprising some 60% of the Earth’s surface.
This is a historic accord, a legally binding agreement that in itself is worth celebrating. But the effectiveness of its protection is only as good as the number of countries that sign on. The United States’ record of formally ratifying global environmental pacts of this sort is not stellar (think of the Paris and Kyoto accords, to name two).
U.S. ratification, which is what should happen, requires a vote of the Senate — which makes the official endorsement of the High Seas Treaty, at best, unclear. Hawaii U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is among those less optimistic of winning over the critics, who worry about yielding control of national interests and security.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that the new treaty seeks to supplement established economic zones that assigned exclusive rights to natural resources to coastal nations within 220 nautical miles. More limited rights to nations were codified for the continental shelf zone beyond that.
This pact came into force in 1994 after the required 60 countries ratified it. The U.S. is not among them, citing concerns with a section dealing with the seabed and ocean floor.
The High Seas Treaty that was struck over the weekend will enable the establishment of new marine protected areas beyond national zones. This is important because this is where populations of species that are overfished can, in time, recover.
Protecting these zones is seen as insurance against extinctions. The mechanism would be the creation of a new governing body over the protected areas and more consistent standards for assessing the impact of human activities there.
Among its other strengths is that it is “key to the world achieving the global 30×30 production target,” said Ulalia Woodside, executive director for The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, the nonprofit that also oversees Palmyra Atoll nature preserve and research station.
She was referencing a push by the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity toward a goal of protecting 30% of the world’s terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030. Most recently, it was incorporated in a global biodiversity framework adopted at the U.N.’s convention’s January meeting in Montreal.
That target is only a few years away, so the hope is for many of the world’s nations to move quickly toward signing the treaty and begin implementing it.
Woodside also noted what are widely acknowledged as the limitations of the treaty: Countries can opt out, and existing activities would not be held to new environmental impact review standards.
But it is an important first step on a path that ultimately should lead to raised standards overall.
The journal Science in October published a study of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, co-authored by University of Hawaii scientists, showing how protecting entire ecosystems has “spillover” benefits on populations of migratory species such as bigeye and yellowfin tuna.
The high seas are not merely a distant concern, in fact, because the living ocean ripples out to touch all shores. It needs the care of all nations to keep it healthy.
