#13 Jeremy Raguain — Insights into the High Seas treaty's (BBNJ) final negotiations
Jeremy Raguain is back!
For those who remember, Jeremy was my first podcast guest. He is a policymaker from the Seychelles, recently finished his fellowship with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), and served as a Seychellois delegate during the most recent High Seas (BBNJ) treaty negotiations.
The High Seas BBNJ Treaty — Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction — is a new treaty from the United Nations aiming to set the groundwork for international legislation on the high seas, so beyond the exclusive economic zones of nations. These waters, typically, are, as Jeremy says in the episode, "the wild wild wet," where no rules and enforcement applies. The most recent round of negotiations in March 2023 was the final one of several that didn't conclude last year, mostly due to late night disputes around the sharing and benefits from Marine Genetic Resources (MGR).
Marine Genetic Resources, the establishment, monitoring and identification of Marine Protected Areas as well as environmental impact assessments were some of the key topics discussed to be in this treaty. Moreover, a number of principles such as the precautionary principle and the common heritage of humankind were areas of debate but eventually made it into the treaty.
Most media outlets shared the wide success of the BBNJ treaty finally being "achieved" — and unless you are an expert, you will not know all the details and steps that still remain to be done to actually bring this treaty to life. You will also not hear all the details of what is going on inside these conference rooms, how treaties such as these are passed, and who is responsible for what. Jeremy shared a lot of insights during the negotiations on his social media and specifically shed light on the not-so-pretty aspects of discrimination towards countries from the Global South, who are most threatened by oceans in crisis due to the climate crisis.
In this episode, we discuss both details of the treaty's content, what certain words actually mean and what they don't, as well as what it felt like for Jeremy to negotiate at this treaty.
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Cover art: Simon + Anna Madlener. Based on the Spilhaus world projection.
Music and Sound Effects: Lukas Bindel
Mixing: Anna Madlener
Photo credits: Tallash Kantai and Mike Muzurakis for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (Opens in a new window) - Earth Observation Bulletin.
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