UNITED NATIONS: UN member states finally agreed on Saturday (Mar 4), following years of talks, to a text on the first international treaty to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure tha
"The ship has reached the shore," conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN headquarters in New York shortly before 9.30pm local time, to applause from delegates.
Following two weeks of intense talks at the United Nations headquarters in New York, including a marathon overnight session Friday into Saturday, delegates finalised a text that cannot be significantly altered.The agreement will be formally adopted at a later date once it has been vetted by lawyers and translated into the United Nations' six official languages, she announced.
Ocean ecosystems create half the oxygen humans breathe and limit global warming by absorbing much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities.Only about 1 per cent of the high seas are currently protected. A highly sensitive chapter on the sharing of potential benefits of newly discovered marine resources was one of the focal points of tensions before it was finally overcome as the scheduled talks, due to end Friday, overran by a day.Developing countries, without the means to afford costly research, had fought not to be excluded from the expected windfall from the commercialisation of potential substances discovered in the international waters.
In a move seen as an attempt to build trust between rich and poor countries, the European Union pledged €40 million in New York to facilitate the ratification of the treaty and its early implementation.
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