Latest news with #oceanProtection
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
World must move from ‘plunder to protection' to save oceans, UN chief warns
Nations must move from 'plunder to protection' in order to save the world's seas from crisis, the UN chief told the ocean summit on Monday. All countries must come forward with 'bold pledges' including a biodiversity target to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, to tackle plastic pollution, overfishing and for greater governance of the high seas, he urged at the opening ceremony. Guterres also stressed the importance of multilateralism and warned, in an apparent swipe at the US, which was not present at the conference: 'The deep sea cannot become the wild west.' 'We live in an age of turmoil, but the resolve I see here gives me hope' UN secretary general, António Guterres told the summit in Nice. 'Hope that we can turn the tide. Hope that we can move from plunder to protection.' His words drew applause from the audience, which included 60 world leaders, including the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, heads of small island developing states as well as ministers, policymakers, scientists and civil society activists. The conference, which seeks to finally get the high seas treaty into place, comes against a backdrop of increasing competition for ocean resources. In April, Donald Trump moved to fast-track deep-sea mining under US law, sidestepping ongoing international efforts to regulate the industry. His actions have lent urgency to the voices of those calling for a moratorium, amid warnings it will cause irreversible damage to vulnerable ecosystems. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, began his address with an urgent call to 'revitalise multilateralism behind the UN secretary general' in order to save oceans. 'While the Earth is burning, the ocean is boiling' warned Macron, adding that working together to 'mobilise all actors, heads of state and governments speaking here but also scientists' was the only way to tackle the crisis. Macron told leaders it was a 'necessity' for nations to impose a suspension on deep-sea mining. 'It's madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it … The moratorium on deep seabed exploitation is an international necessity.' So far 37 countries have announced their support for a moratorium or pause, and in July, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will meet to discuss a global mining code. Macron said the high seas treaty 'will be properly implemented' as he expects the crucial threshold of 60 ratifying countries to be reached. He did not specify a timeline. The high seas lie outside national boundaries, where fragmented and loosely enforced rules have so far meant the vast area was essentially lawless. Getting 60 countries to ratify the agreement, which in itself took 20 years to negotiate, was a crucial goal for France and Macron at the summit. 'In addition to the 50 ratifications already submitted here in the last few hours, 15 countries have formally committed to joining them,' Macron said. The treaty, signed in 2023, will enter into force 120 days after the 60th ratification. The treaty is crucial to meet a globally agreed biodiversity target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030, known as '30x30'. But so too, is increased protection of national waters. The French president has been criticised for doing less than others to meet this goal, by failing to ban bottom trawling in 'protected' areas. On Sunday, France announced it would 'limit' bottom trawling and seek to protect 4% of its metropolitan waters. Nicolas Fournier, campaign director at Oceana, said: 'These announcements bring more questions than answers. President Macron built expectations that the French government would finally act against bottom trawling in marine protected areas – yet these announcements are more symbolic than impactful.' The UK announced on Sunday it would ban bottom trawling in half of its protected marine areas. The conference comes as just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive activities, according to the Marine Conservation Institute.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
'Nothing short of disastrous': Seabed mining project another 'muru raupatu' for Taranaki
No seabed mining written on the beach with boards and canoes Photo: supplied / Tania Niwa About 300 people braved icy waters off the New Plymouth coast on Sunday to protest against the Pātea seabed mining project in South Taranaki. It was a part of a nationwide stand on World Oceans Day opposing fast-tracked seabed mining applications around the country. Australian company Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) plans to mine 50 million tonnes of South Taranaki seabed every year. The project last month cleared its first hurdle in the fast-track process with the application accepted as being complete . Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said there are other applicants waiting to "take sand and make it sludge".' "To the left of it and to the right of it, inside of it and outside of it. My point being, if we think that TTR are the only people lining up, we're extremely naive." Some people stood in solidarity Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Ngarewa-Packer compared the project to the Parihaka land wars . "We've had the lessons of what confiscation and muru raupatu looks like - we don't need to see them repeated again. "There's more whenua (land) under our ocean and we are really fortunate as children of resistance, as communities of resistance, as tangata tiriti beside us who have seen the resistance to what it is, to have confiscation of our land." At the break of dawn, Ngarewa-Packer was amongst the Pātea group who met up and took to the water, then drove to Ngāmotu to do it again at midday. "The biggest power that you have is when I was out in the moana and I turned around and I looked at everybody, there's this kotahitanga," Ngarewa-Packer said. "If there's anyone that can show the rest of Aotearoa what unity looks like, it's got to be Taranaki." some of the more colourful protesters Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews The West Coast paddle-out was repeated elsewhere - a group from Pātea currently in Tahiti also joined in solidarity. Pātea's Joanne Peacock said the fast-track greenlight will cause devastation to the community. "That's where we get kai from, recreational, our fishermen, and we've got a beautiful reef out there, and all the pygmy whales and the dolphins that are coming out there every year now, they're migrating around through the South Taranaki Bight. So, it's huge for us." John Niwa taking some washed up seaweed for a 'hangī' he reckons Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Pip Ngaia from the Waitara Bar Board Riders Club surfs every day, and Sunday's event made him emotional. "Tangaroa has nurtured all of us, all life, and we just need to take care of them, so this is very important. My heart and soul is into this." Pip Ngaia chucking a hangloose Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews He first surfed in South Taranaki "around 50 years ago" and said it was sad to see what was happening. "It's time for us to take heed of what's happening on our planet, and what's happening in our backyards. "If the government will get off their arses and actually think about the people, and take care of what we have, they'll stop selling everything." Waka ama paddlers departed Ngāmotu beach at 12pm on Sunday. They paddled 5km to reach East End beach by karakia. Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Anaru Wilkie was one of those paddlers. "[TTR] have been tested and found wanting in terms of their application, in terms of everything that's been put through the most rigorous tests. For them to come through and then apply through the back door as an abuse of power, an abuse of decency in terms of their application. "So, who's going to speak for the moana? Our tangata, people. We speak for the moana because its voice has been ignored by statute, by our House of Parliament. So, we're the people, that's why we're here." Not all people who took part in the protest had boards or vessels. Some also didn't have wetsuits. Surfers holding hands at East End beach, New Plymouth Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Soraya Ruakere-Forbes did not need either, and did not hesitate before jumping in the water. The longstanding environment kaitiaki said this protest should extend to all of Aotearoa and to the Pacific Islands. "If [TTR] go through here and start here in our rohe, this opens the door for this to happen all up and down our coast and all up the Pacific. So, we need all of our whanau behind us." Some people stood in solidarity Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews RNZ approached TTR for comment. The company reissued a statement released 16 April which said the project was a transformative opportunity for the country's economy. It said there would be comprehensive environmental safeguards, and the operation would generate more than 1300 jobs as well as $850 million annually, making it one of New Zealand's top 12 exporters. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
