Protecting high seas off Chile’s coast depends on UN vote in New York
In international waters off the coasts of Chile and Peru, the ocean teems with plant and animal species – some do not exist anywhere else and many are endangered.
Chile is pressing for the establishment of a new marine protected area (MPA) in order to urgently prevent the loss of biodiversity in these waters. It hopes to conclude the agreement at an upcoming summit that will be held at the UN headquarters in New York.
According to the environment ministry, the South American nation has more than 6,400 kilometers (3,970 miles) of coastline and 42 MPAs that cover about 150 million hectares, or 43% of its exclusive economic zone.
It is now taking a broader perspective: to international waters surrounding the Nazca and Salas y Gomez ridges, two seamount chains that are rich in biodiversity but are not protected by law because they are not under the jurisdiction of any nation.
Chile’s exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, as well as a portion that belongs to Peru’s northern neighbor, are already protected parts of the ridges.
However, no conservation or management measures are in place for 70% of the ridges, which are two chains of more than 110 undersea mountains formed by volcanic activity and stretch over 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) together.
Whales, sea turtles, corals, sponges, starfish, and a wide variety of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans live there.
According to Javier Sellanes, who works at the Catholic University of the North’s Center for Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic Islands, “we find new species every time we go to that area and take samples.”
Unique diversity Sellanes is one of the few Chilean researchers who has studied this remote region. He describes the ridges as “a kind of oasis in the middle of a marine desert.”
He stated to AFP, “Protecting that unique diversity on the planet is of high importance.”
According to current international law, nations’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) should not extend further than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the coast. This is where the high seas begin.
The high seas encompass nearly half of the globe and are not governed by any state.
“under threat from a variety of stressors, including climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing, and potential deep-sea mining in the future,” according to a 2021 study published in the academic journal Marine Policy.
Chile has already begun work on declaring the area around the two ridges an MPA ahead of UN member states meeting next week in New York to finalize a long-awaited treaty on high seas protection.
It could be the first of its kind in the world, but time is of the essence.
According to the Marine Policy study, “Importantly, fishing and other commercial activities are at low levels in international waters of this region,” which means that “there is a time-sensitive opportunity to protect its unique natural and cultural resources before they are degraded.”
New UN High Seas Treaty According to the High Seas Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations, this region’s sea floor is home to cobalt and other highly prized mineral deposits that may one day be the target of deep sea mining.
“We can protect the Salas y Gomez and Nazca ridges for ourselves and for future generations by permanently closing the area to fishing and mining and establishing a high seas MPA through a new UN High Seas Treaty,” it states in an online report.
“None of the areas are officially closed to mining, and neither have contracts been issued for exploration.”
UN members will be able to propose the establishment of MPAs for approval by majority vote if the high seas treaty is ratified. The method by which safeguards will be enforced or funded is not mentioned in the document.
In 2021, Chile submitted a scientific report to the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization as part of its campaign. In the report, Chile emphasized that the benefits of the ocean, such as the stabilization of the climate and the supply of food, “are fundamental to life on Earth.”
The presentation declared, “The science is clear.” We must immediately stop the loss of marine biodiversity and restore the health of the ocean in order to maintain its sustainable productivity.
