Title: The UN Agreed to a Historic Treaty To Protect Marine Life. Now What?

After more than two decades of negotiations, United Nations member states agreed to a historic treaty in early March that protects marine life in the world’s oceans. 

The agreement will create marine protected zones on the high seas, or areas outside of national boundaries that cover nearly half of the world’s surface — marking a major step toward preserving ocean ecosystems and combating climate change.

Rebecca Helm, a marine biologist and assistant professor in the Earth Commons Institute, participated in the negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in New York City for two weeks in March with student Matthew Carvalho (H’23). She called the treaty a “historic victory.”

“I think it’s a bit of a miracle that consensus across all nations was reached at all,” said Helm, who studies biodiversity in the high seas and teaches a related course at Georgetown. “It’s also a very encouraging sign that the world’s nations are ready and willing to come together to protect the ocean.”

To commemorate Earth Month, we asked Helm what this treaty means for the fight against climate change and how it will help preserve the biodiversity of the world’s oceans. 

Q&A With Rebecca Helm

What exactly are the high seas, and why did it take over two decades to build a consensus to protect them?

The high seas cover nearly half of the Earth’s surface but lie beyond any one nation’s control. The high seas also make up most of the Earth’s oceans, so any large-scale ocean conservation must include the high seas. 

Knowing how long it takes politicians to reach a consensus on anything, let alone nearly half of the planet, I think it’s a bit of a miracle that consensus across all nations was reached at all. It’s also a very encouraging sign that the world’s nations are ready and willing to come together to protect the ocean.

How significant of a step forward is this treaty for protecting the oceans, and how will it preserve biodiversity?

There are many ways to protect the ocean, and the treaty includes the top two methods. 

First, we need to be able to set aside important ocean ecosystems, and this will be achieved through a new tool to create marine protected areas. Second, we need to be able to evaluate the environmental impact of high seas activities, and this will be done through the new Environmental Impact Assessment mandate. These two methods, together, will allow us to protect and monitor high seas health for the first time.

You co-authored a letter in Science Magazine calling for a high seas treaty in 2021. Does this treaty go far enough in safeguarding the ocean’s biodiversity?

The treaty is ambitious in many ways. There are some strong tools to protect marine protected areas. However, in some areas, we will need to support these efforts through outreach. For example, all states will be required to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), but they will still be permitted to continue the activity even if the EIA is concerning. 

This treaty will provide transparency so that members of the press and the general public can shine a light on these problem activities, but we need to be paying attention.

How does preserving biodiversity in the world’s oceans connect to the broader struggle to reverse the effects of climate change?

The ocean is one of two Earth life support systems. It acts in partnership with the atmosphere. The ocean is absorbing a massive amount of carbon dioxide, and this is increasing ocean acidity. A more acidic ocean is an additional source of stress for marine species.

By creating marine protected areas and requiring Environmental Impact Assessments, we can help take some of the burden off our ocean by ensuring our added impacts will not overwhelm ecosystems.

What are the next steps to implementing this treaty? What more can member states do at the national and multilateral level to continue to protect the world’s oceans?

The draft needs to be formally adopted — once it’s translated and proofed — and then countries will sign their intention to join. After the signature period, each state will need to work on their national policies to ensure they’re ready to join the treaty.

After signatures demonstrating intent comes ratification — this is where a country actually signs on. Once we hit 60 countries, the treaty will enter into force after 120 days. At that point, all ratifying countries will need to be in line with the treaty. They will also then convene the first Conference of Parties to determine some of the outstanding details, such as the composition and organization of various governing bodies.