Fiji is urging concerted global efforts to safeguard international waters as nations gear up for the inaugural Conference of the Parties under the newly established High Seas Treaty. During the Ocean Pioneers Ministerial Meeting held in Lisbon, Lynda Tabuya, Fiji’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, stressed the importance of the upcoming preparatory meeting in March in New York. This gathering will be crucial in setting the necessary rules and frameworks ahead of COP31.
With the High Seas Treaty, officially known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, now in effect, countries are empowered to create marine protected areas in the vast waters beyond their national jurisdictions, encompassing nearly half of the Earth’s surface. Minister Tabuya emphasized that merely focusing on national waters would fall short of achieving global biodiversity objectives. She called for decisions to be informed by scientific understanding and conducted transparently, urging the expedient establishment of the treaty’s Scientific and Technical Body.
For Fiji and other Pacific island nations, the ocean represents a vital resource for food security, livelihoods, cultural heritage, and climate resilience. Tabuya stated that decisive global action is essential to protect these invaluable lifelines. Fiji is committed to collaborating with international partners to ensure that the first Conference of the Parties yields tangible progress for ocean conservation by 2030. The call for enhanced cooperation illustrates a hopeful move towards a sustainable future for the world’s oceans, with the potential to benefit countless communities reliant on marine resources.
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