"The ship has reached the shore," conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN headquarters in New York shortly before 9:30 pm , to loud and lengthy applause from delegates.
The exact wording of the text was not immediately released but activists hailed it as a breakthrough moment for the protection of biodiversity. The high seas begin at the border of countries' exclusive economic zones, which extend up to 200 nautical miles from coastlines. They thus fall under the jurisdiction of no country.
When the new treaty comes into force it will allow the creation of marine protected areas in these international waters. A highly sensitive chapter on the sharing of potential benefits of newly discovered marine resources was one of the focal points of tensions before it was finally overcome as the scheduled talks, due to end Friday, overran by a day.Developing countries, without the means to afford costly research, had fought not to be excluded from the expected windfall from the commercialization of potential substances discovered in the international waters.
In a move seen as an attempt to build trust between rich and poor countries, the European Union pledged 40 million euros in New York to facilitate the ratification of the treaty and its early implementation.
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