New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday pledged India’s support towards creating a legally binding international treaty under the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea towards the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Speaking at the One Ocean Summit organised by France and jointly hosted by the UN and the World Bank in Brest, France, via video message, Modi said, “India supports the French initiative of a high ambition coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). We hope for a legally binding international treaty this year.”
A coalition on BBNJ was formally launched at the One Ocean Summit Friday, with world leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among others, pledging their support.
The One Ocean Summit featured discussions, some of which were hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, on issues such as combating illegal fishing, decarbonising shipping and reducing plastic pollution.
The objective of the summit, held from 9-11 February, was to mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting healthy and sustainable ocean ecosystems. It has been viewed as the first high-level gathering dedicated to the cause.
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Global initiative on single-use plastic
The prime minister emphasised New Delhi’s commitment towards eliminating single-use plastic and invited France in launching a global initiative dedicated to the cause.
“India recently undertook a nationwide awareness campaign to clean plastic and other waste from coastal areas. Three hundred thousand young people collected almost 13 tonnes of plastic waste. I’ve also directed our Navy to contribute 100 ship days this year to cleaning plastic waste from the seas,” he said in the message.
He added, “India will be happy to join France in launching a global initiative on single-use plastic.”
PM Modi also spoke about India’s commitment towards preserving marine resources, citing the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) as an example.
“Today, our security and prosperity are linked to the oceans. India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative contains marine resources as a key pillar,” he said.
In November 2019, PM Modi launched the IPOI at the East Asia Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand. The IPOI draws on existing regional cooperation to focus on such important issues as maritime security, maritime ecology, maritime resources, maritime transport and disaster risk reduction.
(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)
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