African and Commonwealth nations are urging a swift implementation of a landmark treaty protecting the high seas, warning that despite record commitments to marine conservation, much of the world’s ocean protection still exists only on paper.

High Seas Treaty

The call to action was issued at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya, where hundreds of delegates from Africa, the United States, the European Union, and climate-vulnerable Caribbean and Pacific island nations are taking part.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in his opening remarks at the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers’ Roundtable that the High Seas Treaty, which came into effect in January after ratification by 60 countries, marked a historic turning point by creating, for the first time, a legal mechanism to establish protected areas in international waters.

Kerry warned that progress remained too slow, with only 10% of the ocean under protection this year, and only 3% highly or fully protected. He urged countries to ratify the treaty and move immediately to implementation, noting that key decisions on the future of the treaty will be taken next year.

The treaty, formally known as the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, aims to help countries achieve a global target of protecting 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.

The Kenyan Cabinet secretary of maritime affairs, Hassan Joho, said that governments must now shift from promises to tangible action, and that the purpose of the roundtable was not to restate ambition, but to convert such pledges into measurable results for communities, economies, and oceans.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.