We’re celebrating the signing of the UN Ocean Treaty, which will finally see areas of the ocean outside of national boundaries protected by a proper legal framework.
There’s been some great news coming out of Surfers Against Sewage already this year, and it’s only March! Earlier this month the conservation and campaigning charity sent out a message to supporters about the signing of the ‘High Seas Treaty’ by members of the UN.
This new agreement will see a huge swathe of the Earth's oceans protected against pollution and overuse, which it hasn't previously had.
Just Kampers have been working with Surfers Against Sewage for a number of years now, as our goals to cut down on waste and pollution, especially plastic waste, align really closely with theirs.
We’re celebrating the signing of the UN Ocean Treaty, which will finally see areas of the ocean outside of national boundaries protected by a proper legal framework.
There’s been some great news coming out of Surfers Against Sewage already this year, and it’s only March! Earlier this month the conservation and campaigning charity sent out a message to supporters about the signing of the ‘High Seas Treaty’ by members of the UN.
Just Kampers have been working with Surfers Against Sewage for a number of years now, as our goals to cut down on waste and pollution, especially plastic waste, align really closely with theirs.
What is the ‘High Seas Treaty’?
The treaty is effectively a new agreement which means that 30% of the high seas will be designated as marine protected areas, in turn meaning an extra 18% of the whole of the ocean will now be legally protected.
What does the term High Seas actually mean?
Simply put, the High Seas are areas of the ocean which lie outside of national boundaries. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly huge area, and accounts for almost two-thirds of the entire ocean.
With the world’s oceans themselves covering about 71% of the Earth’s surface, the signing of the High Seas Treaty means that a massive proportion of the planet is now protected.
Insight from Gemma from Just Kampers
Gemma Halliday from the JK Team is a regional representative for Surfers Against Sewage, and commented on the signing of the treaty:
As a lover of our oceans, and a SAS representative, the news that an Ocean Treaty has finally been agreed after decades of battling is a welcome victory.
Much of our oceans, known as the High Seas, have been open to human exploitation as they are outside national boundaries and have no legally binding agreements to protect them. This has left them open to detrimental actions such as overfishing, deep sea mining and shipping lanes, destroying marine ecosystems and devasting our beloved seas.
“The new agreement means that 30% of high seas will be designated as marine protected areas. That means that an extra 18% of the whole of the ocean will now be legally protected. A huge step forward and a record achievement for the ocean.” (Author: Louise Reddy, SAS Policy Officer)
This is an incredible step forward in protecting our oceans and giving our marine ecosystems the chance to thrive all over the world.
The battle to protect our waterways isn’t over but for now we can celebrate taking a huge step in along path.
Just Kampers and Surfers Against Sewage
We've been working with Surfers Against Sewage for a few years now, and are proud to be one of the charity's supporters as part of their 250 Club. As we mentioned before, Gemma from the JK Team is a local rep for Surfers Against Sewage, and is really involved in helping organise beach cleans and other activities.
With Just Kampers being based near the Basingstoke Canal, Gemma has organised a lot of community efforts to clean up the canal and other local waterways - Surfers Against Sewage may have started out trying to clean up the UK's beaches, but they're just as keen to protect all of our waterways from plastic pollution and other damage.
Click here for more information about Surfers Against Sewage.
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