Two-thirds of the world’s oceans lying beyond 200 nautical miles from the exclusive economic zones (“EEZ”) of coastal countries are referred to as international waters or the ‘high seas’. Although many marine protected areas (MPAs) have been designated within countries’ EEZs, only about 1% of the high seas has currently been designated as MPAs or Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). The lack of protection over these areas of water has led to overfishing and pollution, the two foremost causes identified for the extinction or near extinction of 10% of marine species in our oceans.
Last week, on 4 March 2023 in New York, after nearly two decades of talk, 190 UN member states finally reached agreement on the text of the UN’s High Seas Treaty. This treaty will put 30% of the high seas into MPAs.
Please see attached file for details.
联合国《公海条约》
世界上有三分之二的海洋在沿海国家专属经济区（EEZ）200海里之外，这些海域被称为国际水域或“公海”。尽管许多“海洋保护区（MPA）”已被指定在各国的专属经济区内，但目前公海只有约1%的区域被指定为“海洋保护区（MPA）”或“脆弱海洋生态系统（VMEs）”。这些水域缺乏保护进而发生过度捕捞和污染，这是导致海洋中10%的海洋物种灭绝或濒临灭绝的两个主要原因。
经过近20年的讨论后，2023年3月4日，190个联合国会员国终于在纽约就《公海条约》(High Seas Treaty) 的内容达成了协议，该条约将把30%的公海纳入“海洋保护区（MPA）”。
详细信息请参阅附件。
