Latest news with #OlivierPoivred'Arvor
LeMonde
a day ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
At Nice's UN Ocean Conference, the international community is rallying to save the seas
In 1952, Anita Conti set sail from Fécamp in northern France with Newfoundland fishermen aboard the trawler BOIS-ROSÉ. In her major work, Racleurs d'océans (Ocean Scrapers), the oceanography pioneer chronicled the daily lives of sailors, already describing the deep blue as a "vulnerable" mass, "plundered in a savage manner" − a giant that "can no longer defend itself." 73 years later, will the 56 heads of state or government gathering in Nice, southern France, from June 9 to 13 for the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) find a way forward to better protect the liquid heart of the blue planet? "This is a summit of combat, with countries that believe in it and want to commit, a summit that allows island countries to make their voices heard and that involves scientists," said Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, special envoy of French President Emmanuel Macron for the conference. "An ocean without rules is a planet without a future." The UNOC is opening with a clear statement: The ocean is suffering. It has been battered by global warming, which acidified the seas and disrupted ecosystems. Its biodiversity has suffered from pollution originating on land – plastic, antibiotics and pesticides inevitably end up flowing into the ocean. Fishing − both legal and illegal − has put it under further pressure. The ocean also faces threats from the predatory ambitions of major powers, especially Vladimir Putin's Russia and Donald Trump's United States, which seek to exploit the seabed. Gathered from June 3 to 6 at the One Ocean Science Congress, scientists from around the world once again warned governments. "Ecosystems are malfunctioning – we're seeing some populations explode while others suddenly vanish," said Didier Gascuel, a marine biology specialist. "All the indicators are deteriorating," added Marina Lévy, ocean adviser to the president of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France pushes for action as high seas treaty hangs in the balance
After decades of negotiations, a landmark treaty to protect the world's high seas stands at a turning point – and France is urging countries to ratify it before a major UN ocean summit opens in Nice next month. The High Seas Treaty, adopted in June 2023 by 193 countries, aims to protect international waters that cover nearly half the planet. These areas lie beyond any country's control and remain largely unregulated, despite being vital for marine biodiversity, carbon storage and climate stability. But the treaty cannot take effect until it is ratified by 60 countries. So far, only 21 have done so. 'What's the point of negotiating a historic treaty if we leave it in a drawer? A signed treaty protects nothing, but a ratified treaty changes everything,' Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, France's ambassador for the poles and oceans, told reporters this week. Once the 60-country threshold is reached, a 120-day countdown begins before the treaty enters into force. It would then allow countries to set up marine protected areas in international waters and require environmental checks on potentially harmful activities, such as fishing or deep-sea mining. Spain and France were the first two European Union countries to ratify the treaty, doing so in early February 2025. Other major maritime nations – including the United States, Australia, Russia, the United Kingdom and Japan – have signed the treaty but have yet to ratify it. Poivre d'Arvor urged these top maritime powers to 'take responsibility' and help bring the agreement into force. Still, the absence of the United States raised concern. Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:International Maritime Organisation faces stormy debate on shipping emissionsNearly half of tropical coral species face extinction, report showsWorld's coral reefs pushed to brink as bleaching crisis worsens
France 24
28-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Trump's deep-sea mining order violates global norms: France
Washington wants to spearhead mining for mineral-rich nodules in the deepest ocean floor, sidestepping a global effort to regulate such potentially damaging exploration. France has led a diplomatic push to impose a global moratorium on deep-sea mining until more is known about its potential environmental consequences. The country's ambassador for the oceans, Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, said the United States was "violating the principle of non-appropriation of the high seas" by looking to issue mining permits in international waters. "No one can claim the right to destroy the oceans, especially those over which they have no territorial rights. This is the strict application of international law," Poivre d'Arvor told journalists in an online briefing. "The abyss is not for sale," he added. The seafloor holds untapped stores of key minerals that are essential for modern technology. But the ecology of that dark realm is still poorly understood. As commercial interest in the seabed has grown, global regulators have tried to devise a level playing field and environmental protections for the nascent deep-sea mining industry. The United States never ratified the agreements that empower the International Seabed Authority's jurisdiction over seabeds in international waters, and is not a member of the UN-affiliated body. Poivre d'Arvor said that France, which is hosting the UN Oceans Conference in June, has forged a coalition of 32 countries opposed to deep-sea mining until the long-term impacts are better understood. Some 20 experts signed a scientific report last month calling for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining for at least 10 to 15 years or until enough information is available. "It's urgent to wait, not to rush into it right away," Bruno David, a prominent French scientist commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron to write the report, told journalists on Monday. The report warned that dredging the seafloor for minerals could spread giant clouds of sediment for hundreds of square kilometres beyond the mining site and risked heavy metals impacting the food chain. "Science must guide our choices," added David, describing the actions of Trump's administration as "delusional". China -- which holds more exploration licences than any other country, but has held off mining awaiting the ISA's rules -- last week said Washington's decision harmed global interests and violated international norms.
