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UN's High Seas Treaty - 27th March 2023

The United Nations has reached an agreement to preserve the oceans, it's called the High Seas Treaty.

The treaty will keep 30 percent of the world's oceans safe. Its aim is conservation – saving our sea life, from the dangers of fishing, shipping and deep sea mining.

The last UN sea treaty, which is known as 'The Law of the Sea', was signed in 1982. It stated that the seas were international waters which belonged to all countries for fishing, shipping and research. Although this treaty was successful, it only protected 1.2 percent of the oceans.

It's taken two decades to complete the new agreement and after a further 38 hours of discussions, it was finally signed. The UN Ambassador for Oceans, Rena Lee announced this by saying "The ship has reached the shore."

There were a number of difficulties getting the treaty finalised. They were mainly due to issues with finance and the rights to fish. Some developing countries disliked paying for conservation.

Another problem involved deep sea mining. Richer counties are able to explore the seabed for valuable resources which might be beneficial for medicine and industrial processes. However, very little is known about these resources and poorer nations have limited access to them.

But as nations disagree, the EU has provided 40 million euros to get the treaty started. The treaty also created Marine Protected Areas, which preserves 10 percent of marine life that's endangered.

More work is needed to preserve our oceans. However, the treaty is a symbol of hope.

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