PM Modi: India will be happy to join France in launching global initiative on single-use plastic

New Delhi, Feb 11 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is committed to eliminating single-use plastic and would be happy to join France in launching a global initiative on single use plastics. In his message to the One Ocean Summit, hosted by France, the Prime Minister also said that India supports the French initiative of a ”High Ambition Coalition on Bio-diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction” and that India hopes for a legally binding international treaty this year. In a video message, PM Modi congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on holding the Summit, and described it as an important global initiative for the oceans. “India has always been a maritime civilization. Our ancient scriptures and literature talk about the gifts of the oceans including marine life. Today, our security and prosperity are linked to oceans,” he said The PM said that India’s ”Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative” contains marine resources as a key pillar. “India supports the French initiative of a ”High Ambition Coalition on Bio-diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction ”. “We hope for a legally binding international treaty this year.” The PM said that India is committed to eliminating single-use plastic and it recently undertook a nation-wide awareness campaign to clean plastic and other waste from coastal areas. “Three hundred thousand young people collected almost 13 tons of plastic waste. I have also directed our Navy to contribute100 ship-days this year to cleaning plastic waste from the seas,” he added. “India will be happy to join France in launching a global initiative on single use plastics.” At the summit, being held in Brest, France, a high ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) was launched. The coalition gathers parties which are committed, at the highest political level, to achieve an ambitious outcome of the ongoing negotiations on a Treaty of the High Seas (“the implementing agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”), under the auspices of the United Nations. As of 11 February, India is among the several countries to have joined the coalition. The others include Australia, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Egypt, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, Peru, the Republic of the Congo, Singapore, Switzerland, Togo, the United Kingdom, the EU and its 27 Member States : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. According to the BBNJ: Areas beyond national jurisdiction comprise 95% of the ocean and provide invaluable ecological, economic, social, cultural, scientific and food-security benefits to humanity. However, these areas teeming with life are now vulnerable to growing threats, including pollution, overexploitation, and the impacts already visible of climate change. The increasing demand for marine resources in the coming decades – for food, minerals or biotechnology – threatens to exacerbate this problem. The “BBNJ Treaty”, also known as the “Treaty of the High Seas”, is an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, currently under negotiation at the United Nations. This new instrument is being developed within the framework of the United Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the main international agreement governing human activities at sea. It will achieve a more holistic management of high seas activities, which should better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.