Hope For Our Ocean?
Deep-Sea Mining Treaty June 2023
What Is Deep-Sea Mining?
If you don't know what deep-sea mining is then I recommend you to read this short article I wrote, outlining the aims and repercussions of deep-sea mining.
High Seas Treaty Advancement
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty is a legally binding agreement. Its aims are for the conservation and sustainable use of marine land in places national jurisdiction doesn't apply, this accounts for two-thirds of all oceans.
March 5 2023:
after roughly 20 years of negotiations, this treaty was introduced to ensure the protection of 30% of the ocean by 2030.
June 19 2023:
The treaty was formally accepted by all 193 U.N members (United Nations)
United Nations’ Responsibility:
The Treaty includes guidelines to measure the impacts of ‘High Sea’ industries, such as fishing and deep-sea mining. It requires countries to stay accountable by recording and assessing any of these industries that are taking place in the ‘High Seas’, and presenting them to the UN.
We’re not done yet
The ‘High Seas’ are not fully protected yet, with key details about the logistics of these assessments still needing to be discussed and more resources still needing to be assigned. The treaty also needs to be ratified by at least 60 members of the UN before it goes into effect. This could take up to 2 whole years, and by then deep-sea mining will have already been occurring (as early as July 2023).
‘Polluter Pays Principle
The precautionary principle, or precautionary approach, is a concept widely used in environmental law and policy worldwide.
if there is a potential risk of harm to the environment or human health, even if there is scientific uncertainty, measures should be taken to prevent or minimize that harm. There is an ongoing debate about what exactly the principle means, and its application varies in different industries and situations.
The paper aims to help the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its members develop a better understanding of the principle in relation to protecting biodiversity and managing natural resources.
It explores how the precautionary principle is incorporated into laws and policies related to biodiversity conservation and resource management. Additionally, it discusses the challenges and considerations involved in implementing the principle in these areas.
What Do YOU Think?
I have written about the repercussions of deep-sea mining, and how they affect the world around us.
What do you think about it?
I think I have made myself clear on which side I am on when it comes to deep-sea mining, however, to grow and learn as a person, you must take all sides into consideration in order to make an informed opinion. Do you think deep-sea mining should go ahead, why?/Why not?
Let me know as I’d love to hear your view on it.
If you’ve read this far I’d like to thank you for reading this post.
if you enjoyed it, I would love for you to check out some of my other articles.
