By Ngozi Nwankwo
Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Kunle Salako has urged mechanisms approved in the BBNJ Agreement to establish highly and fully protected MPAs covering at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.
Salako said this while giving his remarks at the High-Level event on High Ambition for High Seas holding in the margin of United Nations General Assembly – New York (UNGA 79) Session.
The minster said, “We all know that the BBNJ Treaty is the only international agreement available for establishing marine protected areas outside national boundaries.
“The West Africa is on a clear path towards ensuring we are proactive and equipped to designate the first generation of highly and fully protected marine protected areas in the high-seas.
“In sub-region, we are acutely aware of how fast our oceans are being drained of their ability to support us. We know healthy oceans are essential for our region and we recognize with deep concern that our oceans are affected by processes far beyond our national boundaries.”
Echoing on the need for more countries to sign BBNJ agreement, the Minister said ” I have said it a number of times, each time with more urgency and today with much more urgency, the BBNJ Agreement will enable us to highly and fully protect at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 by establishing enormous marine protected areas in the global ocean.”
Salako reassured Nigeria’s commitment to continuing working with the 15 other ECOWAS countries and other ambitious countries.
“We must hit the ground running the very moment the BBNJ Agreement comes into force because we are already behind. We must act immediately and use mechanisms approved in the BBNJ Agreement to establish highly and fully protected MPAs covering at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.
“With generous technical support from organizations like the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative and the Natural Resources Defense Council, more than half of all ECOWAS member States will have signed the BBNJ Agreement by the end of this UN General Assembly session and are now on the path to ratification.
” The road towards ratification remains arduous but we are definitely making progress and we are now projecting ourselves in the future to ensure we play an active role in the implementation of the treaty by seeking the designation of effective marine protected areas covering at least 30% of the Planet.
“Establishing fully and highly protected marine areas must be a shared responsibility. This is our vision for the future. My country is committed to working together with all of you. I invite you to join us – keep your eyes on the price – don’t give up and prioritize the protection of our blue ally now for the generations to come. Let us work to have 60 ratifications as soon as possible but not later than June 2025,” the Minister said.