I am at the @unitednations headquarters in New York, on behalf of @NatureCanada1, for Canada’s signing of the #HighSeasTreaty .
I really feel I ought to be dressed as a pirate.
The treaty’s purposes are laid bare by its formal title: the "UN Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty". Even though that is a far less exciting name.
This is, arguably, the most consequential conservation treaty of all time.
Oceans cover 70% of the planet’s surface. The vast, vast majority of that are international waters.
As a result, too many national institutions and private actors have treated the oceans like a zone open to lawless exploitation. And much of the world’s oceans are now collapsing into watery deserts.
If state parties keep their commitments – which is, admittedly, a significant caveat – the treaty will protect biodiversity in international waters.
Despite its importance, I concede that this treaty is not remotely glamourous.
No celebrity, or politician, or social media influencer is going to elbow his or her way through a crowd to take a selfie with a glass of plankton.
But life on our planet began in the seas. And life in the seas remains the foundation of life everywhere. There is simply no possibility that the human race could survive, if ocean life perishes.
The High Seas Treaty gives life itself a fighting chance.
The treaty is a result of the passion of countless people and organisations across the world.
And I hope no one will mind if I single out Nature Canada’s 200’000 individual members and our 1’600 local community groups for particular praise.
I also thank Canada’s government and opposition legislators, our ministers and critics, for their leadership.
The treaty will be signed on Canada’s behalf by Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.
There are many steps and many days from signing a treaty, to ratifying a treaty, to actually implementing a treaty.
But today is a critical step. And today is a good day.
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