UN begins talks on protecting high seas

NEW YORK: United Nations member states will kick off tomorrow talks on a 2020 treaty that will regulate the high seas, which cover half the planet, yet lack adequate environmental protection.

Four sessions of talks, each lasting two weeks, are planned to take place over two years, with the goal of protecting marine biodiversity and avoiding further pillaging of the oceans.

In 1982, the UN adopted the Convention on the Law of the Sea, but left the high seas free from restrictions.

The convention took effect in 1994, without the participation of the United States.

Since then, shipping routes have expanded considerably, and the resources of the ocean deep have aroused significant interest, whether by fishing or mineral extraction.