Spain has just ratified the Treaty on Marine Biological Diversity in areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ, for its acronym in English), the first country in Europe to do so, announced the Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen.
Aagesen explained in a press conference that the Spanish ambassador to the UN, Héctor Gómez, deposited this afternoon at the permanent mission in New York the instrument of ratification of the treaty, which aims to declare 30% of the high seas surface as a protected area before 2030, when currently only 1% is.
The agreement establishes a robust legal framework for activities in the ocean and seas, by regulating human activities on the high seas, allowing their protection with marine protected areas, and establishing a mechanism to equitably share the benefits derived from the exploitation of marine genetic resources.
What is needed for the Oceans Treaty to enter into force?
Aagesen recalled that 60 countries need to ratify the treaty for it to enter into force - with Spain, 16 have done so - and expressed confidence that this goal will be achieved at the United Nations Ocean Conference to be held in June in Nice (France).
"Nice will be for the protection of the ocean what Paris has been for the fight against climate change," said the vice president, who called on other countries to follow in Spain's footsteps and ratify the treaty.
She also defended that Spain has moved ahead of the rest of the European Union in ratifying the agreement: "We understood that once we had all the processing completely advanced, it made sense to launch it and for Spain to be a benchmark in the oceans and the rest to join in."
Currently, 21% of the Spanish marine surface is protected and the Government's objective is to reach 25% this year and 30% in 2030, she recalled.
Union to face the climate crisis and pollution
The treaty is a commitment to recover and preserve marine ecosystems but also to face "in a united, integrated way, the climate crisis, pollution and the loss of biodiversity" that especially affect the oceans, said Aagesen, who highlighted multilateralism in "complicated geopolitical times."
The minister was accompanied at the press conference by the executive director of Greenpeace Spain, Eva Saldaña, and the secretary general of WWF Spain, Juan Carlos del Olmo, who highlighted the importance of Spain having taken the step of ratifying the agreement.
Saldaña expressed confidence that Europe "in some way will follow behind" and that Spain's ratification will give impetus to its European neighbors to follow in its footsteps, while Del Olmo considered that "it is very important that a country with the specific weight that Spain has within the EU and internationally is the first in Europe to launch itself to ratify the agreement."
