After two weeks of negotiations between more than 50 countries, the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) ended last Friday without establishing a High Seas Treaty — once again leaving more than two-thirds of the global ocean unprotected. But important progress was also made, which the Only One community of supporters has helped push for. World leaders are closer than ever before to finalizing the treaty, and there’s reason to be optimistic that the next negotiation will be the last step in the nearly two-decades–long process. We can’t let up the pressure now, and we need you with us! Can you help build momentum for the coalition to protect the High Seas by sharing our petition with your network? We’re just shy of our goal of 75,000 signatures.
Campaign Update: In July 2021, the licenses issued to the company for oil exploration expired, effectively halting the project for now. The Bahamian Minister of the Environment publicly declared that the government would not consider a renewal application from the oil company, noting that it still owed millions in outstanding fees to the government. Thank you to the more than 15,000 supporters who joined Bahamian activists and organizations in this fight and helped make this moment possible.
The Bahamas is an ocean nation, with remarkable marine resources and wildlife that have supported local industry and brought visitors from around the world.
But a new oil drilling project could change that. And it’s starting in a matter of months. Just one accident, one spill, can devastate marine systems in the region and the foundation of the economy, employment, food sources, recreation, culture, and the Bahamian way of life.
