UNC Asheville’s Rebecca Helm Publishes A Letter To The United Nations
Rebecca Helm, UNC Asheville assistant professor of biology, is leading the charge to call attention to protect the high seas – marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. With oceans covering nearly half of Earth’s surface, and only 1% of the world’s high seas currently under protection, Helm is raising awareness of the urgent need to protect this vulnerable ecosystem by calling on the United Nations to complete the construction of a treaty that will put crucial protections in place. Her message, published today in Science, and signed by some of the globe’s most esteemed scientists and marine biologists, is advocating nations to create a framework of protections that will conserve high seas biodiversity and promote sustainable and equitable use of our oceans.