UN summit to tackle 'emergency' in world's oceans
A global summit on the dire state of the oceans kicks off Monday in France, with calls to ban bottom trawling and bolster protections for the world's overexploited marine areas.
World leaders attending the UN Ocean Conference in Nice have been told to come up with concrete ideas -- and money -- to tackle what organisers call a global "emergency" facing the neglected seas.
The appeal for unity comes as nations tussle over a global plastics pollution treaty, and the United States sidesteps international efforts to regulate deep-sea mining.
On the eve of the summit, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that leaders must act now: "The planet can no longer tolerate broken promises."
A wave of new commitments is expected Monday in Nice, where around 60 heads of state and government will join thousands of business leaders, scientists and civil society activists.
"Never in the history of humanity have we brought together so many people for the oceans," French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday before hosting leaders for an official dinner.
- Trawling targeted -
On Monday, the United Kingdom is expected to announce a partial ban on bottom trawling in half its marine protected areas, putting the destructive fishing method squarely on the summit agenda.
Bottom trawling sees huge fishing nets dragged across the ocean floor, a process shockingly captured in a recent documentary by British naturalist David Attenborough.
Greenpeace welcomed the UK announcement on trawling but said in a statement it was "long overdue".
Macron on Saturday said France would restrict trawling in some of its marine protected areas, but was criticised by environment groups for not going far enough.
French environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told reporters Sunday that other countries would make "important announcements" about the creation of new marine protected areas.
Samoa led the way this past week, announcing that 30 percent of its national waters would be under protection with the creation of nine marine parks.
Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.
But even fewer are considered truly protected, as some countries impose next to no rules on what is forbidden in marine zones, or lack the finance to enforce any rules.
- Words into action -
Nations will face calls to cough up the missing finance for ocean protection, which is the least funded of all the UN's 17 sustainable development goals.
Small island states are expected in numbers at the summit, to demand money and political support to combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks.
The summit will not produce a legally binding agreement at its close like a climate COP or treaty negotiation.
But diplomats and other observers said it could mark a much-needed turning point in global ocean conservation if leaders rose to the occasion.
"The UN Ocean Conference gives us all an opportunity to turn words into bold and ambitious action," said Enric Sala, founder of Pristine Seas, an ocean conservation group.
Another summit priority will be inching towards the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on protecting the high seas beyond national control.
France is also spearheading a push for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July.
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News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Indonesia revokes most mining permits in dive hotspot after outcry
Indonesia revoked permits on Tuesday for four of the five mining companies operating in the eastern archipelago of Raja Ampat after activists shared videos of islands damaged by nickel extraction. The cluster of islands and shoals in Southwest Papua Province sits in the Coral Triangle and is thought to be one of the world's most pristine reefs, with its clear blue waters making it a popular diving spot. Indonesia has the world's largest nickel reserves and is the biggest producer of the metal, which is used in electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel, and a 2020 export ban has spurred a domestic industrial boom. Last week, Greenpeace Indonesia published videos showing environmental damage to three islands because of nickel mining projects, including one clip which racked up more than 15 million Instagram views. President Prabowo Subianto "decided that the government will revoke the mining business licence of four companies in Raja Ampat", state secretariat minister Prasetyo Hadi told reporters. Energy and mineral resources minister Bahlil Lahadalia said "they have violated" regulations. "We believe this region must be protected," he said. Greenpeace said nickel exploitation on the islands of Gag, Kawe and Manuran had led to the destruction of more than 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of forest and vegetation. Environmentalists say coral reefs and marine life are threatened by the operations, but Bahlil denied the surrounding environment had been harmed. "If people say the coral reefs and the ocean have been damaged, you can see for yourself. Please be careful to differentiate which one is real and which one is not," he said. - 'Make sure they stop' - The NGO's campaign led to growing calls by politicians and celebrities for the licences to be withdrawn. The four companies impacted by the immediate ban are PT Anugerah Surya Pratama, PT Nurham, PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining and PT Mulia Raymond Perkasa. PT Nurham received its mining permits this year and has not started production but the other three have had them since 2013, according to the energy ministry. One more company -- PT Gag Nikel -- will continue to operate on Raja Ampat's Gag island but be closely monitored, said Bahlil. It received its operational permit in 2017. The three affected islands are categorised as small islands that under Indonesian law should be off-limits to mining, Greenpeace said. Greenpeace Indonesia said the decision was a good start but the government needed to take further action. "We appreciate this decision but we need to make sure the decision will be implemented. We need to make sure they stop," forest campaign team leader Arie Rompas said. He warned the government could reissue the permits later or the companies could appeal the decision in court. The activist said the government should also revoke the operating permit for the fifth company. A report last week by Climate Rights International alleged the Indonesian government was allowing environmental damage and violations against Indigenous people to go unchecked by nickel mining firms in the eastern Maluku islands. Processing and mining operations have grown there around Weda Bay, the world's largest nickel mine by production, but have led to locals reporting a spike in air pollution from smelters and rivers polluted by nickel tailings in soil carried by rain. An AFP report last month detailed how the home of the nomadic Hongana Manyawa tribe was being eaten away by that mine, with members issuing a call for nickel companies to leave their tribal lands alone.

ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
PM Marape, Manele na sampla moa Pacific lida istap long Nice UN Ocean Conference
Displa hae levol United Nations Ocean Conference long Nice (Neez) long France igat gutpla stat taim President blong France, Emmanuel Macron itokaut taim em opim displa conference aste olsem, moa long 50 pla kantri i ratifaim or mekim offisol pinis displa High Seas Treaty. Theme or het toktok blong displa namba 3 UN Ocean Conference em long "Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean," blong dil wantaim crisis we i gohet long bagarapim Ocean we i kam long overfishing, Climate Change na pollution. Displa bikpla UN Ocean Conference tupla France na Costa Rica nau i bung long hostim long Nice em bai gohet igo inap long Friday displa wik. Solwara em impotan tumas long ol kantri insait long Pacific, em olsem na ol Gavman lida blong Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Niue, Palau, Marshall Islands, Samoa na Tuvalu - wantaim tu ol hae levol representative blong Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tonga na Vanuatu oli stap long displa UN Ocean Conference. Wanpla bikpla agrimen we United Nations em i laik long sampla moa kantri i ratifaim nau em displa High Seas Treaty, we 126 kantri raun long world ol ibin wanbel longen long 2023, tasol em i nidim 60pla kantri long ol i ratifaim long UN iken enfosim. Displa internasinol High Seas Treaty em blong lukautim environment long high seas - na em i karamapim sampla key eria insait long bikpla solwara inkludim ol plants na animal aninit long solwara.

The Australian
9 hours ago
- The Australian
Leaders warn race for minerals could turn seabed into 'wild west'
World leaders on Monday called for strict rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor in a thinly veiled rebuke of US President Donald Trump. Growing anxiety over Trump's unilateral push to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters shot to the surface at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in southern France. "I think it's madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks -- when we know nothing about it," said French President Emmanuel Macron. Imposing a moratorium on seabed mining was "an international necessity", said Macron. The number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday, according to a tally kept by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations. Trump was not among the roughly 60 heads of state and government in the seaside town of Nice but his spectre loomed large as leaders defended the global multilateralism he has spurned. Of particular concern is his move to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and issue permits directly to companies wanting to extract nickel and other metals from waters beyond US jurisdiction. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for "clear action" from the seabed authority to end a "predatory race" for deep-ocean minerals. "We now see the threat of unilateralism looming over the ocean. We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea," he said. The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica were "not for sale", Macron said in further remarks directed clearly at Trump's expansionist claims. The ISA, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting in July to discuss a global mining code to regulate mining in the ocean depths. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he supported these negotiations and urged caution as countries navigate these "new waters on seabed mining". "The deep sea cannot become the wild west," he said, to applause from the plenary floor. - 'Wave of hope' - Island nations also spoke out against seabed mining, which scientists warn could result in untold damage to ecosystems largely unexplored by humanity. "Here in Nice, we can feel that the looming threat of deep-sea mining, and the recent reckless behaviour of the industry is seen by many states as unacceptable," said Megan Randles from Greenpeace. Meanwhile, a flurry of last-minute signatures in Nice brought a treaty to protect 60 percent of the world's oceans outside national jurisdiction closer to law. Macron told reporters that 55 nations had ratified the high seas treaty, just five shy of the number required for its enactment. The president gave two thumbs up and a broad grin as he posed with the new signatories, and said the accord would come into force by January 1, 2026. According to the UN, 18 new ratifications took place on Monday, bringing the total to 50. Others could arrive in the coming days. "Today's surge of ratifications for the High Seas Treaty is a tidal wave of hope and a huge cause for celebration," Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, told AFP. - 'Prove you're serious' - On Monday, the United Kingdom announced plans to extend a partial ban on bottom trawling in some of its protected marine areas, following a similar move by France at the weekend. Greece, Brazil and Spain took the opportunity Monday to announce the creation of new marine parks, following recent similar action from Samoa. And French Polynesia unveiled what will be the world's largest marine protected zone, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030. Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 percent by the summit's close on Friday. Environment groups say that for marine parks to be considered truly protected they need to ban trawling and other harmful activities, and be properly funded. Wealthy nations face pressure in Nice to commit money to make that level of ocean conservation a reality. Small island states are leading the charge for money and political support to better combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks that hurt their economies. "We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it," said President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau, a low-lying Pacific nation. np-aag-fcc-fff/gv/aha