"UNITED NATIONS — Diplomats from around the world have failed to reach agreement on a United Nations treaty designed to protect marine life on the high seas, after a fifth round of talks ended in impasse.
Negotiations at U.N. headquarters in New York were suspended early Saturday following two weeks of talks that environmentalists had hoped would close a gap in international marine protection measures.
A proposed treaty would set rules for protecting biodiversity in two-thirds of the world’s ocean areas that are outside of national jurisdictions.
Less than 1% of the high seas are protected without a new treaty, and “pockets of marine protection are not enough” for threatened species, said Maxine Burkett, the United States deputy assistant secretary of state who was involved in negotiations."