German environment minister hails UN High Seas Treaty as major success

Germany has formally joined a landmark United Nations agreement aimed at protecting the high seas, with Environment Minister Carsten Schneider hailing it as the biggest international environmental policy achievement of recent years.

"The agreement proves that even in times of confrontation, the principle of international cooperation continues to enjoy broad support," Schneider said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Schneider deposited Germany's instrument of ratification with the UN, formally completing the country's accession to the agreement.

The UN High Seas Treaty, also known as the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), supplements the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The agreement establishes the framework for designating large marine protected areas on the high seas and for conducting environmental impact assessments before certain activities affecting the marine environment.

It applies to areas of the ocean beyond national territorial waters, which extend up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, and beyond exclusive economic zones, which extend up to 200 nautical miles. These areas account for around two-thirds of the world's ocean surface.

Schneider said the state of the world's oceans was poor, with plastic pollution, overfishing, chemicals and climate change placing them under growing pressure.

He said protected areas were therefore essential to allow marine ecosystems to recover.

According to the Environment Ministry, the treaty and Germany's legislation implementing it will become binding for German actors on October 21, 30 days after accession.

German organizations and individuals, including ships sailing under the German flag and German high-seas researchers, will then have to comply with the agreement.