What the declaration of peace for the ocean includes.
The document signed in Costa Rica by 26 countries, "The sea can no longer bear our mistreatment and indifference."
At least 26 countries signed a declaration of peace for the ocean in Costa Rica Saturday at the end of the 'Immersed in Change' forum, a year before the United Nations Conference on Oceans in France. Among the signatories were Germany, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Israel, South Korea, Costa Rica and France, which will co-organize the UN meeting in Nice (southeastern France). At the end of two days of discussions, the 50 participating countries called for action to protect the Oceans.
"We are determined to intensify actions to transform the ocean, to support the activities of nature-positive economies based on the best possible science and scientific information, traditional knowledge and innovation," they said in a document. The ocean can no longer stand our mistreatment and indifference. That is why we in Costa Rica have decided that it is time to declare peace," said Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André.
"Protecting the ocean and the sustainable use of marine resources is not an option, but an imperative," said Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Social Affairs, at the opening of the forum.
This 12-point declaration of peace includes a call for ratification of the High Seas Protection Treaty, adopted in 2023 by more than 70 countries and aimed at protecting waters beyond the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of states, i.e., about 370 kilometers from their shores.
