United Nations chief Antonio Guterres urged countries to agree a “robust and ambitious” treaty to protect the high seas, as time starts to run out for negotiators.

After 15 years of formal and informal talks, delegates have been meeting in New York since Feb 20 to discuss a text that aims to protect nearly half the planet.

It is the third “final” negotiating round in less than a year and is due to end Friday.

“Our ocean has been under pressure for decades. We can no longer ignore the ocean emergency,” Guterres said in a message read to negotiators.

“The impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are being keenly felt around the globe, affecting our environment, our livelihoods and our lives,” the secretary-general added.

“In adopting a robust and ambitious agreement at this meeting, you can take an important step forward in countering these destructive trends and advancing ocean health for generations to come.”

The high seas begin at the border of countries’ exclusive economic zones, which extend up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from coastlines. They thus fall under the jurisdiction of no country.

While the high seas comprise more than 60 percent of the world’s oceans and nearly half the planet’s surface, they have long drawn far less attention than coastal waters and a few iconic species.

An updated draft text released last weekend is still full of parenthetical clauses and multiple options on some major issues that will determine the robustness of the final agreement.

Source: Nam News Network (NNN)