World leaders commit to ambitious Antarctic protection
Sat, May 01 2021 09:24:42 AM
New Delhi, May 1 (IANS): The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) welcomed this week s announcement of a new joint strategy to achieve the designation of three new large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Antarctic, taking one step closer to securing the largest single act of ocean protection in history.
The Ministerial Joint Declaration on April 28 called on all CCAMLR Members to act as soon as possible to conserve the Southern Ocean s unique biodiversity and ecosystems for present and future generations.
ASOC, a group of conservation organisations, also welcomed the announcements from the US and New Zealand to join the EU, Australia, Norway, the UK and Uruguay in co-sponsoring two of the MPA proposals, the Weddell Sea and East Antarctica.
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The Hon Sussan Ley MP
Minister for the Environment
Australia, the EU and now the US are at the forefront of escalating international efforts to secure new protection for the Antarctic’s Southern Ocean.
Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley was the first of 15 nations to speak at an online European Union conference last night championing the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) over key areas of the Southern Ocean in East Antarctica, the Weddell Sea, and the Antarctic Peninsula region.
Led by European Union Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius, the meeting saw Presidential Envoy for Climate of the United States of America John Kerry sign his nation to the cause, joining the likes of France, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
Today, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus
Sinkevičius hosted a ministerial meeting to build support among the Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) for the designation of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean, in particular the EU proposals to establish MPAs in East Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea. The meeting was key in shaping a joint strategy to work together towards the adoption of new MPAs in CCAMLR and to present the Commission’s actions under the European Green Deal that contribute to protecting the Antarctica.
Speaking after the meeting, Commissioner
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WASHINGTON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ The Pew Charitable Trusts today praised the U.S. government for joining efforts to secure marine protected areas (MPAs) in Antarctica s Southern Ocean.
Special presidential climate envoy John Kerry announced today during a virtual ministerial meeting hosted by the European Union that the U.S. would join the EU, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, and Uruguay in pushing for the designation of the East Antarctic and Weddell Sea MPAs which would protect more than 3 million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean.
Credit: Laurent Ballesta Andromède Oceanology.
These two MPA designations by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) would also move the world nearly 1% closer to achieving the goal of protecting 30% of the global ocean, called for in 2016 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.