More than 190 countries have reached a landmark deal for protecting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, agreeing for the first time on a common framework for establishing new protected areas in international waters.

The treaty, whose text was finalized Saturday night by diplomats at the U.N. headquarters after years of stalled talks, will help safeguard the high seas, which lie beyond national boundaries and make up two-thirds of Earth’s ocean surface. Member states have been trying to agree on the long-awaited treaty for almost 20 years.

Environmental advocacy groups heralded the finalized text — which still needs to be ratified by the United Nations — as a new chapter for Earth’s high seas. Just 1.2 percent of them are currently environmentally protected, exposing the vast array of marine species that teem beneath the surface — from tiny plankton to giant whales — to threats such as pollution, overfishing, shipping and deep-sea mining.

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The following submission statement was provided by /u/CelebrationDirect209:

More than 190 countries have reached a landmark deal for protecting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, agreeing for the first time on a common framework for establishing new protected areas in international waters.

The treaty, whose text was finalized Saturday night by diplomats at the U.N. headquarters after years of stalled talks, will help safeguard the high seas, which lie beyond national boundaries and make up two-thirds of Earth’s ocean surface. Member states have been trying to agree on the long-awaited treaty for almost 20 years.

Environmental advocacy groups heralded the finalized text — which still needs to be ratified by the United Nations — as a new chapter for Earth’s high seas. Just 1.2 percent of them are currently environmentally protected, exposing the vast array of marine species that teem beneath the surface — from tiny plankton to giant whales — to threats such as pollution, overfishing, shipping and deep-sea mining.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/11k07ah/nations_agree_on_worldchanging_deal_to_protect/jb51ubp/

In other words, the damage has already become too heavy and now they're trying to go into full-on repair mode before it spirals.

Thank you for sharing. As the article says, it will take a few years to solidify, and then to enforce. But this is an excellent, excellent step in the right direction to combat, for example, unregulated trawling on the high seas.

batter late than never. hopefully it isnt too late though.

It is definitely too late.

Until the fascist gets power around the world that is. Anyone thinks far-right nationalist would follow through? Nope, not a chance.

How many of them will actually abide by the agreement though?