From 11/01/2027 To 22/01/2027
The first formal meeting (COP1) of the states that ratified the historic treaty to protect the high seas will take place from January 11 to 22, 2027, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric announced on Monday.
After consultation with the Member States, the preparatory commission for the implementation of this treaty, which officially entered into force at the beginning of the year, had proposed to hold this inaugural meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on these dates, which were to be confirmed by the UN Secretary-General.
At the end of the last preparatory meeting last week in New York, the Alliance for the High Seas welcomed the « progress » made in preparing the ground for COP1.
But the work to transform the text of the treaty « into something that can allow for changes in the water is far from complete, » commented Rebecca Hubbard, director of this coalition of NGOs, citing concerns about relations with other organisations related to the high seas, including regional fishing organizations.
For its part, Greenpeace accused the fishing industry of putting pressure to put in place procedures that would delay the creation of marine protected areas on the high seas, a key tool of the treaty.
« The ocean belongs to all of us, but today it is trapped in the nets and hooks of the fishing industry, » said Megan Randdles, head of the NGO’s delegation during the discussions.
After years of waiting for ocean defenders, the treaty, now ratified by 87 countries and signed by 144, came into force, on paper, at the end of January.
But most of the instruments it provides for will need specific decisions from successive COPs to come to life, especially future marine protected areas.
While marine ecosystems are threatened by climate change, pollution and overfishing, science has proven the importance of protecting all these oceans with an often microscopic biodiversity, which provide half of the oxygen we breathe and limit warming by absorbing a significant part of the CO2 emitted by human activities.
The high seas begin where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the States end, a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the coast and is not under the jurisdiction of any State.
Today, only about 1% of the high seas, which represents almost half of the planet and 60% of the oceans, is subject to conservation measures.
