An agreement has been reached between 200 countries around the world. Whose name is High Sea Treaty. This agreement has been reached after 20 years of deliberations. It is being told that this will contribute significantly in the conservation of marine life. Millions of species still live in the sea, but over the years, due to human activities, the sea and its biodiversity have suffered a lot. For the past several years, increasing maritime transport, excessive hunting and indiscriminate mining have brought the ocean’s eco system to the brink of destruction. The animal will get protection. But the question arises that why did it take so long to finalize this agreement, why did the countries of the whole world participate in this agreement, do the seas also have boundaries like the countries spread over the earth, overall it would be that After all, which law works in the sea, and what will change after this treaty. , Let us try to find out the answers to these questions.
High Sea Treaty will save seas and oceans
Seas and oceans have been under threat for years Used to be. To get rid of such threats, the United Nations has been trying for years to bring the member countries together and take measures to deal with this threat. After the signing of the High Sea Treaty, this effort of the United Nations has been successful to some extent.
Let us tell you that more than 200 countries have agreed on the High Sea Treaty. Negotiations were going on for twenty years regarding this treaty between the countries. After 38 hours of deliberations at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, these countries agreed to the ‘High Seas Treaty’.
Under this treaty, 30 percent of the world’s oceans will be protected by the year 2030. Will be done. Along with this, efforts will also be made to protect and give new life to the marine fauna, flora and minerals present in the oceans under the treaty. For this, all the countries involved in the treaty will help each other beyond their national boundaries.
More than 5 thousand marine species are under threat
The International Union for Conservation of Nature i.e. IUCN releases data from time to time to tell about the threatened species. IUCN tells where and which species are in danger. . IUCN issues a Red List for threatened species. According to this list released, there is a deep crisis on the existence of 5,652 marine species.
This thing bothers all the countries even more because the sea is very vast and deep. In such a situation, there may be lakhs of marine species that we do not even know about. In such a situation, this treaty is considered to be quite historic.
What is the meaning of high seas and why it is considered mysterious
Open Sea Area means that area of the sea which starts after the end of the maritime boundaries of a country. Usually this area is up to 200 nautical miles from the coast of the country. This is called high seas. Understand that half of the earth covers the ‘high seas’. Or you may not think so.
The disturbing thing is that only 1.44 percent of it is safe. There is natural habitat of many aquatic creatures in this area. Right now humans have very little knowledge about this area, that’s why it is called mysterious. Illegal fishing, mining, oil and gas extraction, pollution from land, habitat loss are some of the reasons due to which the risk of high seas is increasing.
Till now The biggest obstacle in the way of this treaty was the inability of the member countries to agree on the responsibility of funding and the rights of fishing. Therefore, for the first time after two decades, when these countries agreed on such a major treaty for the conservation of biodiversity in the ‘high seas’, it has become a historic opportunity not only for the United Nations, but for the whole world.
How are the boundaries of the sea determined
For hundreds of years, the sea was free from rules and regulations. But with the changing times, interest in national security and protection of their economy and marine resources increased in the coastal countries. As a result, a balance was needed to maintain freedom of navigation.
December 10, 1982 became the day when the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea gave its signature. Its purpose was to link the law of the sea with international law. In 1994, 60 more countries agreed on this. By the 21st century, more than 150 countries accepted this law as correct and joined it. This is an international agreement under which the responsibility of countries and their rights on the seas and oceans are decided. Under this law, the rights of any country are applicable in a particular maritime area.
The High Sea Treaty agreement has been signed under this law only. In this the parts of the sea are divided into three parts. First Territorial C. The concerned country has complete authority over this area. It covers an area of 12 nautical miles. You can understand it in this way that the rules and regulations of India will be applicable up to 12 nautical miles from the sea of India. Exactly the same law applies to other countries as well.
The second zone is the contiguous zone. This area covers an area up to 24 nautical miles i.e. 44.44 kilometers from the baseline zone. Under this, India takes the responsibility of doing business, custom duty and cleanliness in the sea up to 44.44 km. This is the case in almost all countries.
The third zone is the Exclusive Economic Zone. Under this, up to 200 nautical miles i.e. 379 km, all concerned countries have the freedom to explore natural resources, conduct scientific experiments.
How will this treaty promote ‘Blue Economy’< /p>
This treaty can also provide financial help to countries other than sea creatures. Think of it like this that capital and technical skills are very high in the seas around the continent of Africa. With the help of which they also catch fish from their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) i.e. international oceans. If these countries were bound by the laws, they could not have done this. Similarly, China and some European countries have been fishing from India’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
In such a situation, the High Sea Treaty will make a rule for fishing inside and outside our EEZ ie Exclusive Economic Zone. The blue economy of the country will get a boost. This treaty can also help in bringing political stability in the country.
As the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean are currently considered part of the British Indian Ocean region. Its water has been considered as an environmental preserve and the entire part of the sea as a protection zone. Being in a remote area also makes it special. American military bases have been built in the vicinity of this sea. This sea is also the center of attraction for fishermen.
In view of all this, surveillance has been increased in the Chagos Archipelago after a recent treaty between Britain and Sri Lanka. Many fishermen also catch sharks standing on the verge of extinction from this sea. In such a situation, the High Sea Treaty will put restrictions on the ships going for fishing from the sea. That is, with the help of this treaty, different countries will need to negotiate before entering each other’s territory.
How effective will this treaty be
In the coming time, under this treaty, a body will be formed to preserve the high seas and the aquatic life coming in it. Apart from this, a team will be formed to check it from time to time. The purpose of which will be to find out what damage is being done to the sea due to commercial activities. How can this loss be reduced? The treaty will also decide the sharing of income from marine biological sources, such as plant material, animals, drugs, microbes, etc. considered insufficient. The biggest reason for this is the huge size of the open sea area under the treaty. The countries involved in the treaty will roughly need to take care of at least ten million square kilometers of ‘Protected Marine Area i.e. MPA’. The second reason for the trouble is that in order to protect the MPA, the treaty talks about limiting human activities in certain ocean areas. Experts are also expressing concern over the fact that this treaty will prove to be effective in preventing overfishing, shipping, hunting and deep sea mining from seas and oceans.
Cobalt, manganese, zinc and many other precious substances are extracted in deep sea mining. Though their mining has not been allowed yet, it is obvious that many countries are keeping their eyes on these mining. In the coming times, these countries will definitely raise the issue of these mining.
How effective will the High Sea Treaty be at the ground level
In order to implement the treaty For this, all countries will have to take approval from the Parliament of their respective countries, only then this treaty can be implemented. To implement this, it will be necessary for at least sixty countries to adopt the treaty. It is clear that it will take a long time. At the same time, it will not be easy to determine the open sea protected areas. It is also difficult to estimate the environmental impact of deep mining.
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