Greenpeace Czech Republic has called on the Czech government to ratify a treaty known as the Global Ocean Agreement, and support the protection of oceans from deep-sea mining. The group issued their call on Monday, alongside the launch of an online public petition, Save the Oceans.
Over 2,000 people have already signed the petition, which was launched on World Oceans Day.
The Agreement is intended to help fulfill one of the global commitments to nature conservation – to protect at least 30% of the oceans and land by 2030.
In February, iROZHLAS.cz reported that the Czech Republic participated in drafting the agreement as one of the European Union member states, but it did not sign it as the Environment Ministry (MZP) requested an impact study of the treaty’s effect on the Czech budget prior to ratification.
MZP spokeswoman Veronika Krejčí noted on Monday that the previous government had already instructed the Minister of the Environment in 2023 to assess the agreement’s impacts and propose the next steps by the end of 2027 at the latest. The deadline was set so that intergovernmental consultations at the UN and discussions at the EU level could be reflected in the proposal.
“The Environment Ministry is evaluating the results of both processes and will incorporate them, along with an assessment of the impact on public administration, the business sector and the state budget, into a proposal for next steps, which it will submit to the government,” the ministry told CTK.
Although the Czech Republic is not a coastal state, environmentalists say that through international agreements, it has access to the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the purpose of exploration and potential deep-sea mining, and it can thus play an important role in ocean conservation.
Scientists are warning that the impacts of deep-sea mining on marine ecosystems have not been sufficiently studied, and any damage could persist for centuries. According to Greenpeace CR, a temporary global ban on deep-sea mining is necessary, at least until its impacts on ocean ecosystems and ways to prevent them are sufficiently understood.
“Right now, a decision is being made on whether we will protect some of the most valuable ecosystems on Earth or sacrifice them to the short-term economic interests of large corporations,” said Miriam Macurova, an expert with the Save the Oceans campaign.
Along with the ratification of the Agreement, environmentalists are also calling for the accelerated designation of marine protected areas where the most destructive human activities will be restricted. These currently cover 8.3% of the ocean’s surface, Greenpeace says.
“Science clearly shows that marine reserves work, and that their benefits extend beyond the boundaries of the protected area,” said Macurova. “After decades of destruction, pollution and overexploitation, we have a real chance for the first time to give the oceans space to recover.”
The Global Ocean Agreement (High Seas Treaty) entered into force at the beginning of 2026. It falls under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Its goal is to protect the marine environment and ensure the sustainable use of the oceans in areas that do not fall under the sovereignty of any state. This accounts for two-thirds of the world’s oceans.
