Sea waters beyond countries’ territories should be urgently protected from pollution and waste, said the United Nations (UN) Special Task Force on Marine Biodiversity in its meeting on February 2. At the meeting, UN Deputy General Secretary Asha-Rose Migiro urged the task force to seek measures to protect the marine ecosystem in sea waters outside the countries’ territories, which account for 59 percent of the globe’s oceans. She asked the task force to summarise and draw lessons from the efforts the UN have made to protect the sea waters. According to her, it is urgent to assess the effectiveness of regional treaties and action plans on the sea including the establishment of a preservation zone. She stressed scientific policies to preserve and manage off-shore areas and urged the world to embrace a new vision of biodiversity. Waste and pollution kill more than one million birds and 100,000 marine animals each year. Climate change and acidification of the oceans are destroying coral reefs and the habitat of many marine species. It is estimated that nearly three fourths of the world’s marine species have been exploited until exhaustion./.