CONSERVATION NEWS

After intense negotiations, discussions on commercial deep-sea mining have been postponed — at least for now. Environmentalists view the decision as a hopeful step toward protecting fragile marine ecosystems.

Roughly two-thirds of the world’s oceans lie beyond national boundaries in an area known as the “high seas” — yet only about 1 percent of that largely unexplored expanse has been protected. Now, nearly 200 countries have agreed on the first-ever United Nations treaty to protect the high seas.

In case you missed it: Scientists are sourcing new, lifesaving medications from the sea. But deep-sea mining explorations could risk critical marine ecosystems before their potential is understood.

In case you missed it: A deep-sea discovery is giving scientists hope for the future of coral reefs, a natural disaster in Tonga reveals the inequities of climate change and seed-eating animals are migrating to new ecosystems.

A team of researchers recently discovered three new species of black coral in the depths of the North Pacific — but deep-sea mining could threaten them.