Learn bits
World Affairs
Mahesh

07/03/23 08:07 AM IST

United Nations High Seas Treaty

In News
  • After more than a decade of negotiations, the UN members have agreed (in New York, US) on the first-ever treaty – the UN High Seas Treaty, to protect the world’s oceans outside national boundaries.
UN High Seas Treaty
  • It is the first-ever treaty to protect the world's oceans that lie outside national boundaries.
  • It is also known as the ‘Paris Agreement for the Ocean.’
  • It is a legally binding treaty to protect marine life in international waters.
  • It aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030 (a pledge made by countries at the UN biodiversity conference in 2022).
  • It will provide a legal framework for establishing vast marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and share out the genetic resources of the high seas.
  • It also covers environmental assessments to evaluate the potential damage of commercial activities, such as deep-sea mining.
  • It will establish a conference of the parties (CoP) that will meet periodically and enable member states to be held to account on issues such as governance and biodiversity.
  • The treaty also includes a pledge by signatories to share ocean resources.
High Seas
  • The high seas begin at the border of countries’ exclusive economic zones, which extend up to 370km (200 nautical miles) from coastlines.
  • Beyond that point, the seas are under the jurisdiction of no country, and all countries have a right to fish, ship, and do research.
  • They make up more than 60% of the world’s oceans by surface area.
Source- The Hindu

More Related Current Affairs View All

15 Nov

Government issues guidelines to curb misleading ads by coaching centres

'The central Government issued new guidelines aimed at curbing misleading advertisements by coaching institutes, specifically prohibiting false promises such as "100 per cent selec

Read More

15 Nov

Janjatiya Gaurav Divas

'Every year on November 15th, Janjatiya Gaurav Divas is celebrated to honor the contributions of these communities, especially in India’s freedom struggle.' 5th November

Read More

15 Nov

Supreme Court’s order on mandatory accessibility standards

'A bench of the Supreme Court last week ordered the Union government to frame mandatory rules for ensuring the accessibility of public places and services to persons with disabilit

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps