Marine biodiversity pact agreed at UN

More than 100 countries on Saturday completed an agreement set to safeguard the world’s marine biodiversity. Nearly two-thirds of the oceans lie outside national boundaries on the high seas where fragmented and unevenly enforced rules seek to minimize human impacts.

U.N. meetings have been held with the aim of producing a unified agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of those vast marine ecosystems. Experts say that a global oceans treaty is needed to enforce the U.N. Biodiversity Conference’s recent pledge to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans, as well as its land, for conservation.