Why in news? For the first time, United Nations (UN) members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas.

Highlights:

• The treaty agreement concluded two weeks of talks in New York.
• An updated framework to protect marine life in the regions outside national boundary waters, known as the high seas, had been in discussions for more than 20 years, but previous efforts to reach an agreement had repeatedly stalled. The unified agreement treaty, which applies to nearly half the planet’s surface.
• This treaty will help to knit together the different regional treaties to be able to address threats and concerns across species’ ranges
• It is a efforts to protect marine species like dolphins, whales, sea turtles and many fish make long annual migrations, crossing national borders and the high seas and
• Human communities that rely on fishing or tourism related to marine life have previously been hampered by a confusing patchwork of laws.

New Body

• The treaty will create a new body to manage conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas
• The body is critical to achieve the UN Biodiversity Conference’s pledge to protect 30% of the planet’s waters, as well as its land, for conservation.