Palau Takes the Lead in the 'Race for Ratification'

TEMPO.CO, New York - The High Seas Alliance applauded Palau for being the First nation to officially ratify the historic High Seas Treaty at the United Nations headquarters on Monday, January 22, 2024, and urged other countries to accelerate their efforts in the Race for Ratification, according to a press release received by Tempo on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.

“We congratulate Palau for taking the world lead in the global Race for Ratification of the High Seas Treaty. By ratifying today, President Surangel Whipps Jr. and the Palauan Congress (OEK) have demonstrated their nation’s commitment to restoring ocean health so that it can continue to sustain billions of people worldwide and protect us from the worst impacts of climate change,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance.

“We hope this inspires other countries to re-double their efforts to ratify the Treaty without delay so that it can enter into force as soon as possible,” she added.

The High Seas - the ocean beyond countries’ maritime borders – covers half the planet, is home to the world’s greatest wealth of biodiversity and plays an essential role in regulating our climate by absorbing about 30% of the CO2 produced by humans each year. This vast ocean area supports some of the most important, yet critically endangered ecosystems on Earth, yet a lack of governance has left it increasingly vulnerable to overexploitation. Currently, only 1.5% of the High Seas is protected.

Once 60 countries ratify the High Seas Treaty, it will enter into force and become the world’s first international law to mandate the conservation and management of marine life in areas beyond countries’ national jurisdictions, enabling the establishment of High Seas marine protected areas, and regulating potentially harmful activities through comprehensive environmental impact assessments.

Since it opened for signature at the UN General Assembly in September 2023, 84 UN Member States have signed the High Seas Treaty, thereby expressing their intention to proceed to ratification. The High Seas Alliance and its members are working with governments to secure at least 60 ratifications needed for the Treaty to enter into force by the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

Transforming the High Seas Treaty into action in the water is a critical step to securing international goals to reverse the climate and biodiversity crises, including the goal to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030, agreed during the UN global Biodiversity Summit in December 2023.

TEMPO.CO

Editor's Choice: Countries with the Highest and Shortest Average Height in the World

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News