Australia To Protect 30 Percent of its Oceans by 2030

Australia pledged to designate 30 percent of its ocean territory as “highly protected” by 2030, a move that would likely ban fishing and mineral extraction in its waters and comes as world leaders gathered in France for a United Nations summit aimed at protecting the seas, the Guardian reported Monday. 

Australian Environment Minister Murray Watt announced the initiative during a reception at the UN Ocean Conference in the coastal town of Nice, a day ahead of the summit’s formal opening. 

Watt said Australia will launch a three-year review of 44 marine parks as the basis for expanding the country’s network of fully protected zones.  

Currently, about 52 percent of Australia’s waters fall within marine parks but only 24 percent are classified as “highly protected” – under which definition all extractive activities, including fishing, oil drilling, and mineral exploration, are strictly prohibited. 

Watt emphasized that Australia “can achieve 30 percent” within five years, adding the country already protects “more ocean than any other country on Earth.”  

He also said legislation would be introduced before the year’s end to ratify an oceanic biodiversity treaty – known as the High Seas Treaty – that Australia signed in September 2023. 

Environmental groups welcomed the announcement but urged stronger climate action to complement marine protections.  

They warned that oceans face increasing threats from global warming and pressed the Australian government to adopt more ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2035 – the current 2030 goal is a 43 percent cut from 2005 levels. 

Australia’s pledges came as world leaders are meeting this week to address marine degradation, seabed exploitation, and the implementation of the High Seas Treaty.  

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron opened the summit with an urgent call for multilateral action to save the oceans, France 24 wrote. 

Macron confirmed that the High Seas Treaty will soon take effect, with 60 ratifications now submitted – 50 of them just ahead of the summit.  

He also called for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining, warning it could devastate fragile ecosystems.  

UN Secretary-General António Guterres added that oceans must not become “the wild west.” 

The summit comes amid growing concern that global efforts to protect marine biodiversity are falling short. According to the Marine Conservation Institute, less than three percent of the world’s seas are currently under full protection.