Remember June 2022? Blue text = a clickable link. To highlight pictures please click themIf you are a regular reader of this blog perhaps you remember that in June 2022 I wrote wth great delight that countries world wide had agreed to preserve 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. I thought getting that agreement was a great achievement. Countries so often disagree! In explaining why I was so pleased I drew on a backgrounder by Amy Lupica in Our Daily Planet. She wrote: 'Protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030 could ensure the health of key biomes while also boosting ocean-reliant economies, many of which need a jumpstart due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ocean fisheries support millions of jobs and feed people across the world, and international trade relies on shipping and ocean travel. But ocean ecosystems also play a huge role in sequestering carbon and buffering coastal communities from worsening hurricanes. Currently, only 7% of our ocean is protected, and experts say that increasing it in the right places could yield a trifecta by boosting global biodiversity and the yield of fisheries while sequestering more carbon.' This week Now, come to this week. The UN General Assembly is meeting in New York. A Reuters report I read yesterday talked about the next step in the process of fixing in place the Treaty of the High Seas, as it is now called. To take this next step at least 60 countries had to sign what is called a new treaty but is really a confirmation of the original. Reuters reported : 'A new U.N. treaty to protect the world's oceans was signed by 67 countries on Wednesday, another step in efforts to reverse the damage done to fragile marine environments by overfishing and other human activities. 'The global pact to conserve biodiversity on the high seas was finally agreed in March and formally adopted by the United Nations in June. It is seen as a crucial tool to meet a target agreed last year to protect 30% of the earth's land and sea by 2030, known as "30 by 30."' The Greenpeace viewGreenpeace, as we might expect, has something to say on a matter as environmentally important as this. In a report, 30×30: From Global Ocean Treaty to Protection at Sea, three key priority sites are listed for ocean sanctuaries, due to their ecological significance: 'the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic ocean, the Emperor Seamounts in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and the South Tasman Sea/Lord Howe Rise between Australia and New Zealand. Each case study details a pathway to protection using the new Treaty. 'The report also stresses that human pressures on our oceans continue to grow: a detailed new analysis of fishing activity on the high seas indicates that apparent fishing hours have risen by almost 10% since 2018. What’s even more alarming is that the report found fishing activity on areas earmarked for protection under the Treaty has grown even quicker. Our oceans are running out of time. But the momentum is on our side and it’s crucial that we use every bit of it to make governments act swiftly to give our oceans a chance to bounce back. ' A video as wellNot content with their report, Greenpeace has produced a video. I hope you like cartoon characters. I don't, but I like the message! ImportantHere in Aotearoa New Zealand we are thunderously close to a national election. The TV news gives us interviews, speeches, debates and endless promises. I know some families are short of money and in poor accomodation. I know there is difficulty and hardship. But preserving the sea around our country and the whole world surely must have high priority. Please, let's give attention to that. A petition we can all sign is here! A signature can help us reach 30% of the oceans protected as sea sancturies by 2030. That, I certainly hope for. □ John McInnes Friday 22 September 2023 ##########
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