India urges member nations of UN to stay dedicated to conservation and preservation of oceans and their biodiversity

New Delhi: India has urged member nations of the United Nations to stay dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the oceans and their biodiversity. New Delhi also stressed upon supporting sustainable economic development and the well-being of coastal people under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS). Presenting a draft statement via video conferencing in New Delhi yesterday, 

Minister of State for Earth Science Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that the country's approach to biodiversity management is congruent with three globally accepted principles comprising conservation, sustainable usage, and equitable benefit sharing. 

The draft also supported the high-ambition



coalition for the early conclusion of the International Legally Binding Instrument - Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) under UNCLOS. Dr Singh expressed hope that the adoption of the BBNJ agreement would signal the international community's strong commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

 

In his statement, the Minister underlined that despite significant progress on several major issues, negotiations are still ongoing. He pointed out that consensus has still not been arrived at over important issues like funding, intellectual property rights and institutional mechanisms at the Intergovernmental Conference.