Namibia welcomes adoption of global treaty on High Seas

The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has welcomed the establishment of the new global treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).

The treaty, under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNClos), was adopted by consensus and standing ovation on 19th of last month during the United Nations meeting held in New York.

Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources spokesperson Uaripi Katjiukua told The Namibian last week the ministry welcomes the development and commends the efforts in protecting and conserving the high seas.

“We see the development as a success conservation story and stand firmly with all stakeholders to protect our oceans. Oceans are our livelihood, from transport, tourism, mining and fisheries,” said Katjiukua.

Katjiukua said although the high seas are beyond Namibia’s jurisdiction, the country has demonstrated its commitment to the protection of its ocean, through the development of its Blue Economy Policy.

The treaty is key as it is aimed at protecting the ocean, promoting equity and fairness, tackling environmental degradation, fighting climate change and preventing biodiversity loss in the high seas.

The adoption of the BNNJ is a seen as a historic achievement in international negotiation regime as it marks an end of more than a decade of multilateral negotiations towards its establishment and is a welcome addition to UNClos, which provides the legal framework under which all activities in the ocean take place.

Also reacting to this new development, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said: “you have pumped new life and hope to give the ocean a fighting change..”

He said the adoption of the treaty is a demonstration of the strength if multilateralism.

“This is critical to addressing the threats facing the ocean and to the success of ocean related goals and targets – including the 20230 Agenda and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Guterres.

The high seas provide invaluable ecological, economic, social and food security benefits to humanity and are in need of urgent protection. Marine areas beyond national jurisdiction cover nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans, comprising the high seas and the seabed area (beyond national jurisdiction).

However, they are under mounting pressure from pollution, including noise, over-exploitation, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

The treaty will open for signatures for two-years, starting from 20 September at the seat of the Interim Secretariat of the UN headquarters in New York, and requires ratifications by 60 states to enter into force.

At its 12th Conference of Parties held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 2017, the Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Area of the Atlantic Coast in West, Central and Southern Africa (better known as the Abidjan Convention), made a draft decision calling on its member states to support negotiations towards establishment of the BBNJ treaty, as biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction is important to people’s livelihoods.

Namibia is a Party to the Abidjan Convention, which is one of the Regional Sea Programmes of the Nairobi-based United National Environment Programme – the house of environmental matters within the family of the United Nations.