In the GA Plenary, France drafted a resolution, titled “The Way of Water,” or GA/II/1, to take on water borders, biodiversity and the rise of ocean water levels. Considering that about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, and France points out only one percent is protected, GA/II/1 speaks for itself on its relevance. Representative Jack Eichholz of France, expressed the importance of protecting international waters as “something being overlooked, so that [is] something we wanted to focus on.”

GA/II/1 focuses on “bodies of water that are currently unprotected or that their protections are not serving them,” stated Representative Ella Schnake of France. “That means we are focused on water pollution and protecting biodiversity.” Covering a variety of issues within the topic of Nature knows no borders, the GA/II/1 has more than 33 sponsoring Member States. 

One sponsor, Australia, talks favorably about the impact of GA/II/1 in their own country, listing the possible impacts with transboundary issues. “We had a case in the ICJ this year about Japan whaling in our waters,” Representative Evan Porter of Australia reflected. “They are actually ruling on that tonight. So we really have a vested interest in making sure that sovereign water rights are respected in terms of maritime law.” 

More than transboundary issues, Australia also recognized the positive impact that the resolution might bring to the Great Barrier Reef through addressing climate change affecting bodies of water. A natural beauty and prize for the Australian coast-line ranging 133,000 square miles, the Great Barrier Reef houses more than 9,000 known species. Representative Evan Porter of Australia noted that they “definitely had an internal emphasis that the climate crisis doesn’t get to the point where the Great Barrier Reef completely disappears.” 

As of Sunday evening, GA/II/1 was voted and adopted by the body GA Plenary.