19th June 2025 (12 Topics)

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UN High Seas Treaty

Context

The United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC), held recently in France, marked a major step forward for global ocean governance. A total of 56 countries have now ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty, also known as the High Seas Treaty, bringing it closer to becoming legally binding. The treaty will enter into force once 60 ratifications are reached.

1. What is the BBNJ/High Seas Treaty?

Formal Name: Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty
Adopted Under: UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)
Objective:
- - Create marine protected areas in international waters
  - Regulate access to marine genetic resources
  - Conduct Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for high seas activities
  - Promote capacity-building and technology transfer to developing nations
- Global Commons Focus: Applies to the high seas, which lie beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of individual nations

2. Key Hurdles to Implementation:

Equitable Benefit Sharing:
- Disagreements over commercial gains from marine genetic resources
- No final consensus on revenue-sharing from high-seas bio-extraction
Enforceability Concerns:
- Treaty is legally binding only after 60 ratifications (currently at 56)
- Requires alignment of domestic laws with treaty provisions

3. Major Outcomes of UNOC 2025:

Voluntary Global Commitments:
- EU: €1 billion for marine conservation & sustainable fisheries
- France/Polynesia: Largest marine protected area (5 million sq. km)
- New Zealand: $52 million for Pacific ocean governance
- Germany: €100 million for munitions clearance in North/Baltic Seas
- Panama, Canada & 35 others: Coalition for a Quiet Ocean (tackle noise pollution)
- Spain: 5 new MPAs; target 25% marine area protection
- Canada: $9 million for SIDS’ climate resilience
- UN agencies: One Ocean Finance initiative for blue economy investment

PYQ:

With reference to the ‘United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’, consider the following statements:

A coastal state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles.
Ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.
The Exclusive Economic Zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3

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UN High Seas Treaty

1. What is the BBNJ/High Seas Treaty?

2. Key Hurdles to Implementation:

3. Major Outcomes of UNOC 2025:

PYQ: