In the wake of the papal-inspired United Nations agreement on the environment, the United Nations has launched a far-reaching initiative that could give the UN control over the biological resources of the high seas, which is all the waters that lie outside of national territories and economic zones.
It involves multi-trillion-dollar issues, including the protection of biological diversity, major impact assessments and projects like the development of “marine genetic resources.”
Overall, the hoped-for treaty will cover “two-thirds of the oceans, almost half the planet,” said Lisa Speer, a senior official of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The foundation for the treaty, which they hope to have drafted, by the end of 2017, is based on the problems related to over-fishing, pollution, the drainage of nutrients and other substances from the surrounding lands, the disturbance of underwater sea beds, etc. Some see the treaty as the saltwater equivalent of the Paris Agreement on climate change – “a global, permanent and legally-binding deal for the management of Earth’s last frontier…”
“One of the things we are looking at is how marine genetic resources will be conserved, sustainably used, and how the dividends will be shared,” said Speer. “The [Obama] Administration is deeply involved in the negotiations, as are some of the world’s most powerful environmental organizations.”
“The United States strongly supports conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources, both within and beyond national jurisdiction,” a State Department official told Fox News. That includes “increased cooperation and coordination among states, international bodies, and relevant stakeholders to achieve better conservation and management of high seas resources.”
Environmentalism is one of the key principles that papal Rome uses to unite the world under her moral guidance. The United Nations will be the global coordinator of papal plans and objectives.