China outlines ideas on marine biodiversity treaty

CHINA has outlined principles to help in the creation of the world’s first-ever legally binding treaty addressing biodiversity in the high seas, defined as open ocean far from a coastline.

At the first session of negotiations on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction on Tuesday, Ma Xinmin, deputy director-general of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized four principles.

As the first principle, Ma, who headed the Chinese delegation to the United Nations conference, said talks on the instrument should be based on consensus and that parties should avoid decision-making by taking votes. “Experience has shown that an international instrument that emerges from voting may fail to fully accommodate the concerns of all parties and would be difficult to interpret, apply and implement after it comes into force,” he explained.

Ma went on to stress the talks should be based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, adopted in 1982, in line with the 2017 UN General Assembly resolution which set stage for the meeting.

The instrument “should supplement and improve on the Convention, not depart from its principles and spirit, jeopardize the institutional framework of the Convention, or contradict existing international laws and global, regional mechanisms governing the ocean,” he said.

Thirdly, the treaty should strive to maintain common interests, as “we are a community of shared future and share common interests regarding the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction,” Ma said.

Last but not the least, the institutional design of the treaty should balance the interests of all parties and all sides to avoid favoring one over the other.

Ma said his government attaches great importance to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.

According to a policy brief circulated at the session, areas beyond national jurisdiction make up 64 percent of the oceans, nearly half of the planet’s surface and over 90 percent of its habitable volume.

In 2002, a UN informal consultative process discussed the protection of marine environment, setting off a journey toward formal treaty negotiations under the UNCLOS.

Last December, the UN General Assembly adopted a modality resolution that set the stage for Tuesday’s meeting.

Rena Lee, president of the conference, said in her opening remarks: “This day has been a long time in coming for many who have been working on these issues for many years.”

The conference will meet initially for four sessions, with the second and third taking place next year and the fourth in the first half of 2020.