John: Good evening, I'm John
yang.
Delegates at the united nations
have agreed on a historic
international treaty to protect
biodiversity in the ocean.
It's been years in the making
and only made it over the finish
line after a marathon 36-hour
negotiating session that ended
late last night.
>> Even for people who don't
live near it, the ocean is
central to life on Earth.
It covers more than 70 percent
of the Earth's surface, is home
to tens of thousands of species
of fish, provides oxygen for the
planet, and provides the
livelihood for billions of
people.
But only 1.2% of the ocean has
any legal protection, leaving
the high seas lawless and ripe
for exploitation.
Overfishing threatens
biodiversity.
Another threat, the ocean's
rising temperatures caused in
part by climate change.
The man-made scourge of plastic
pollution poses an ever-growing
problem.
Late last month, as the united
nations kicked off a fifth round
of negotiations to establish a
treaty to protect more of the
ocean, the cause gained some
star power.
Jane fonda: We depend on the
ocean.
You know, even dogs don't poop
in their kennel because they
know that the kennel provides
security and a home for them.
We're pooping in our kennel.
We're supposed to be so smart.
We're destroying things we don't
even understand.
>> The outcome is critical to
reaching another un goal,
protecting 30% of the ocean by
2030.
Over the past two weeks,
delegates from 193 countries met
to try to hammer out the final
details.
Among the goals, creating a
legal framework to establish a
network of high sea marine
protected areas, creating rules
for exploitation of resources,
and confronting the issue of
overfishing.
>> The ship has reached the
shore.
[Applause]
>> Late last night, after 36
straight hours of negotiation at
the un, the president of the
conference announced the
historic agreement.
Earlier I spoke with Liz Karan
who was at the
un for the marathon negotiations
as head of the pew charitable
trusts' efforts to protect ocean
life on the high seas.
I asked her about the final push
to get the deal done.
>> It was truly incredible.
The negotiations started before
the official starting time of
10:00 A.M. On Friday morning.
And went all through the night
into the next morning.
It did not include until :00
P.M. The next day.
It is not unusual for
negotiations of this kind to go
into a little bit of overtime.
This is an incredible situation
where because of the complexity
of the package of issues being
dealt with, they needed the
extra time to push it over the
finish line.
>> Given the complexity and how
long this has been in the works
and how long these final rounds
of talks were, how much of the
significance of the agreement is
in the details and provisions
and how much is it the fact that
it exists?
The countries were able to come
to an agreement at all -- that
countries were able to come to
an agreement at all?
>> An agreement of this scale
that covers the high seas which
covers two thirds of the world's
ocean.
It is also an incredibly
detailed agreement that
establishes heigh -- high
seas.
It evaluates environmental
impacts, activities in the high
seas, and also sent out
financial benefit sharing
derived from resources.
An important element is it
ensures the transfer of marine
technology to ensure the
equitable implementation.
>> What were the toughest
hurdles to clear before the
agreement was reached?
>> I think two key issues, one
is around the financial benefit
sharing.
It really is unprecedented.
Basically, it ensures that
benefits are derived from
comments and are shared
globally.
That means that developing
countries that also benefit.
Those benefits will be in turn
used for conservation.
>> It is some of the same splits
that we have seen in climate
change talks between the rich
industrial nations and the poor
nations who feel that they are
being asked to pay for what the
rich industrial nations have
created.
They are looking to get the
benefits, is that right?
>> I think financial benefit
sharing is an important issue.
It is an issue of equity and
allowing for the effective
implementation of the agreement.
The agreement well has a
mentioned set out a process for
the establishment, large-scale
protected areas in the high seas
and that is important to protect
areas and keep biodiversity in a
changing climate.
>> This has to be ratified by
many of the participant nations,
that is right?
>> It does.
What occurred last night is
about the president of the
conference finalized the text
that will be going through
technical review and translation
into all six you and official
languages at which time
countries will come back and
officially adopt -- six U.N.
Official languages and which
T which time countries will come
back and officially adopted.
High seas makeup 2/3rds's of the
world's -- 2/3rds of the world's
oceans.
We want to ensure that the
implementation of the target is