United Nations members gather Monday in New York to resume efforts to forge a long-awaited and elusive treaty to safeguard the world's marine biodiversity.
Nearly two-thirds of the ocean lies outside national boundaries on the high seas where fragmented and unevenly enforced rules seek to minimize human impacts.The goal of the UN meetings, running through March 3, is to produce a unified agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of those vast marine ecosystems.
"This is our largest global commons," said Nichola Clark, an oceans expert who follows the negotiations for the nonpartisan Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. "We are optimistic that this upcoming round of negotiations will be the one to get a treaty over the finish line." Experts say that a global oceans treaty is needed to actually enforce the UN Biodiversity Conference's recent pledge to protect 30 per cent of the planet's oceans, as well as its land, for conservation.
Officials, environmentalists and representatives of global industries that depend on the sea are also watching negotiations closely.
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