"Declaration of peace with the ocean", signed by 26 states

States have decided to make peace with nature. A first agreement was initialed, 26 countries signed a "declaration of peace with the ocean" in Costa Rica at the end of the "Immersed in change" forum, one year before the UN Conference on Oceans in France. Among the signatory countries are Germany, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Israel, South Korea, but also Costa Rica and France, which will be co-organizers of the UN meeting scheduled to take place in Nice (southeast of France). At the end of two days of discussions, the 50 participating countries called for action to protect the oceans. "We are determined to step up transformative actions for the ocean, to support the activities of economies beneficial to nature, based on the best possible science and scientific information, on traditional knowledge and innovation," they said in a document. "The ocean can no longer bear our bad treatment and our indifference. That's why we decided, in Costa Rica, that the time has come to declare peace," said Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo Andre. "Protecting the ocean and the sustainable use of marine resources is not an option, but an imperative," Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Social Affairs, said at the opening of the forum. The 12-point "Declaration of Peace" includes a call to the ratification of the treaty on the high seas, adopted in 2023 by more than 70 countries and intended to protect the waters that begin where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the states end, approximately 370 kilometers from their coasts.