每年的6月5日是联合国大会于1972年通过决议而设立的世界环境日，以增强公众和各国政府保护环境的意识。6月5日是第47个联合国世界环境日，今年的主题为“关爱自然 刻不容缓”。今年环境日全球庆祝活动由哥伦比亚和德国共同主办，聚焦“生物多样性”，这一问题既紧迫，又关乎人类存亡。从巴西、美国和澳大利亚的山火，到东非各地的蝗灾，再到当前肆虐全球的新冠肺炎，近期发生的各种灾情都表明，人类与其生存的生命网络相互依存。改变或删除生命网络的任一元素，都会影响整个生命系统，可能产生负面影响。

新冠肺炎的暴发向世界敲响了警钟：破坏生物多样性，就是破坏人类赖以生存的系统。在所有新出现的人类传染病中，约75%为人畜共患病，即通过动物传播给人类的疾病。

联合国秘书长古特雷斯在为今年的环境日发表的致辞中指出，人类若想更长久地繁衍生息下去，必须关爱自然。同时还需要保护野生动植物和它们的生存空间，并致力于实现绿色和有韧性的未来。

联合国环境署执行主任、联合国副秘书长、国合会副主席英格·安德森（Inger Andersen）为今年的世界环境日发表视频致辞表示，人类的活动给地球带来了巨大变化，在试图改变自然规律的同时，人类严重破坏了赖以为生的生态系统和丰富的生物多样性。新冠肺炎的暴发是地球向人类发出的最强烈警告，我们必须改变。现在是时候来倾听地球的声音。她呼吁全球即可采取行动，保护自然。这将降低未来大流行暴发的风险，并有助于实现可持续发展目标以及减缓气候变化的速度。这也意味着更健康的生活，更稳定的经济和更美丽的环境。

6月2日，生态环境部、中央文明办在京联合举办“美丽中国，我是行动者”主题实践成果展示活动，正式拉开了纪念六五环境日的序幕。活动现场播放了六五环境日主题宣传片。

今天（5日）上午，生态环境部和中央文明办共同主办2020年六五环境日国家主场活动，旨在动员社会各界自觉践行绿色生产生活方式，号召大家积极行动起来，共同建设美好家园。

The theme of World Environment Day 2020, which is on June 5, is  "Time for Nature". Based on the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, last year, the United Nations and its member states launched the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-30), which aims at restoring the relationship between humans and nature in the coming decade. To fulfill this year's theme, international law and global governance are most needed to achieve the goal of protecting biodiversity. At the moment, no international agreement serves this purpose better than concluding the agreement of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, which has been under negotiation since 2004.

SONG CHEN/CHINA DAILY

Nonetheless, old questions arise at the global level, namely how to balance sustainable development and environmental protection, how to balance the interests between developing and developed economies, and how to facilitate a global consensus or compromise on issues deemed to be essential for negotiating parties. China, the world's second-largest economy and largest developing country, provides its own answers to these dilemmas on the usage of biological resources in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. These experiences will have significant impacts on the future of global environmental governance.

Sixty-four percent of the world's oceans are beyond national jurisdiction. There is an urgent need for the world community, particularly the developing countries, to come together and make arrangements for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources, to make sure they benefit not just the powerful nations, but all countries. However, biodiversity in the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction is extremely vulnerable to human activities. The major causes of environmental threats come from pollution arising from seabed activities, fisheries and biomass depletion, and ocean acidification, all of which pose threats to the well-being of the oceans and marine life.

To address these problems, the international community agreed to conduct negotiations on issues related to the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in 2004. In 2011, a majority of states agreed to form a negotiating agreed "package". In the package, creating marine protected areas and conducting environmental impact assessments are closely related to environmental protection.

China has been a serious participant in the negotiations from the beginning and stands firmly with the developing countries. In 2017, the director of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the negotiations on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement were the single most important international legal negotiations for the Chinese government at present. China has stood firmly with other developing countries in the negotiations. It has formed an informal alliance that many of the G77 countries in the negotiations advocate as advancing their shared national interests.

China believes that marine protected areas are tools to protect the environment, rather than the goal, as many Western countries claim. A cost-effective analysis should be conducted before acting, and solid scientific evidence and different management tools are the basis for the establishment of any marine protected areas. For China, the protected areas serve not just environmental protection, but also promote the development of the ocean economy.

With regard to the environmental impact assessments, China believes that sovereign states, no matter big or small, should be the core actors. China is cooperating with other countries to advocate the concept that sovereign states can do the best in terms of the substance of the environmental impact assessments and in protecting the environment. Any new institutional arrangements should also comply with the related articles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In all, China's position toward the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction negotiations aims at balancing the goal of sustainable development and environmental protection. There are both economic and political rationales behind it. As of 2019, China's marine economy only accounted for 9 percent of its total GDP, and there is lots of potential to further develop a comprehensive maritime economy by becoming an active participator in the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement. In addition, the Chinese government has advocated creating a "blue economy", which contains not only the traditional ocean economy but also a type of economics that focuses on sustainably using both living and non-living resources in the high seas.

Deep-sea biological resources possess unlimited commercial value, and competition for them has become a pressing issue among developed countries. By applying the latest science and technology, China can build a strong and powerful marine economy to achieve the goal of becoming a 21st-century maritime power.

Furthermore, actively participating in the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction negotiations is in accordance with China's goal of shouldering its responsibilities as a responsible power and strengthening its commitment to global governance. China is not only aiming at becoming a strong economic power, but also desiring to become an international law-binding state and rule-maker in global governance. China, as one of the most prominent players and benefactors of economic globalization, strives to uphold its responsibilities under international law. China, along with many developing countries, is making its voices heard and interests respected in the future of rule and law-making in ocean governance.

As a champion of sustainable exploitation of marine areas and the protector of the international marine environment, China's position in the negotiations on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement demonstrates that it is adding its weight to the care and protection of the marine environment.