The UN General Assembly had voted on December 24, 2017 to convene a multi-year process to develop a treaty on “the conservation and sustainable use of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction”. Three of the scheduled negotiations took place. The fourth and final series, initially scheduled for March 2020, is currently taking place at UN headquarters in New York, from March 7 to 18. The draft treaty covers four key areas: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; environmental impact assessments and capacity building; and marine technology transfer.
The treaty’s scope may be limited, however, by the fact that it does not cover fishing or mining, both of which are the preserve of other international organizations. A large part of the high seas is governed by regional fishing organizations, within which countries agree on the fish stocks to be harvested. As for the exploitation of mineral resources, this is the responsibility of the International Seabed Authority. But the fishing industry will nonetheless be affected by the treaty’s provisions, starting with the future marine protected areas.
