. 24/7 Space News .
ICE WORLD
Plans for world's largest ocean sanctuary in Antarctic blocked
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Nov 3, 2018

A plan to create the world's largest marine sanctuary in Antarctic waters was shot down when a key conservation summit failed to reach a consensus, with environmentalists on Saturday decrying a lack of scientific foresight.

Member states of the organisation tasked with overseeing the sustainable exploitation of the Southern Ocean failed at an annual meeting Friday to agree over the a 1.8 million square kilometre (1.1 million square miles) maritime protection zone.

The proposed sanctuary -- some five times the size of Germany -- would ban fishing in a vast area in the Weddell sea, protecting key species including seals, penguins and whales.

Consensus is needed from all 24 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the European Union.

But environmental groups say Russia and China -- whose concerns over compliance issues and fishing rights have proved key stumbling blocks in the past -- along with Norway, played a part in rejecting the plan.

"This was an historic opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic: safeguarding wildlife, tackling climate change and improving the health of our global oceans," Greenpeace's Frida Bengtsson said in a statement on Saturday.

"Twenty-two delegations came here to negotiate in good faith but, instead, serious scientific proposals for urgent marine protection were derailed by interventions which barely engaged with the science and made a mockery of any pretence of real deliberation."

Antarctica is home to penguins, seals, toothfish, whales and huge numbers of krill, a staple food for many species.

They are considered critical for scientists to study how marine ecosystems function and to understand the impacts of climate change on the ocean.

Plans were set out in 2009 to establish a series of marine protected area (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean allowing marine life to migrate between areas for breeding and foraging, but it has been slow going.

The CCAMLR summit, held in each year in Hobart, Australia, was able in 2016 to establish a massive US and New Zealand-backed MPA around the Ross Sea covering an area roughly the size of Britain, Germany and France combined.

As well as the huge Weddell Sea sanctuary, proposals to estbalish two further MPAs in East Antarctica and the Western Antarctic Peninsula were also dashed this year. Together, the three zones would cover close to three million square kilometres.

Andrea Kavanagh, head of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Antarctic and Southern Ocean work, described the failure to achieve an MPA designation as "discouraging".

"Without an East Antarctic MPA, critical foraging grounds for emperor and Adelie penguins, toothfish, and many other species will not be safeguarded," she said in a statement.

The CCAMLR released a statement saying the new MPAs were the "subject of much discussion" and would be considered again at next year's meeting.


Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


ICE WORLD
Antarctic ice shelf 'sings' as winds whip across its surface
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 17, 2018
Winds blowing across snow dunes on Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf cause the massive ice slab's surface to vibrate, producing a near-constant set of seismic "tones" scientists could potentially use to monitor changes in the ice shelf from afar, according to new research. The Ross Ice Shelf is Antarctica's largest ice shelf, a Texas-sized plate of glacial ice fed from the icy continent's interior that floats atop the Southern Ocean. The ice shelf buttresses adjacent ice sheets on Antarctica's mainland, ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

ICE WORLD
Plant hormone makes space farming a possibility

Installing life support the hands-free way

US-Russia space cooperation to go on despite Soyuz launch mishap

Escape capsule with Soyuz MS-10 crew hit ground 5 times before stopping

ICE WORLD
Soyuz launch failed due to assembly problem: Russia

Viasat, SpaceX Enter Contract for a Future ViaSat-3 Satellite Launch

Astronauts confident of next crewed Soyuz mission to Space Station

Russia launches first Soyuz rocket since failed space launch

ICE WORLD
Mars Express keeps an eye on curious cloud

Desert test drive for Mars rover controlled from 1,000 miles away

Third ASPIRE test confirms Mars 2020 parachute a go

NASA's InSight will study Mars while standing still

ICE WORLD
China's space programs open up to world

China's commercial aerospace companies flourishing

China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite

China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules

ICE WORLD
ESA on the way to Space19+ and beyond

Ministers endorse vision for the future of Europe in space

Space industry entropy

European Space Talks: we need more space!

ICE WORLD
Atomic path from insulator to metal messier than thought

Bose-Einstein condensate generated in space for the first time

Astroscale secures new funding for LEO debris clean up concept

New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures

ICE WORLD
Rocky and habitable - sizing up a galaxy of planets

Some planetary systems just aren't into heavy metal

Giant planets around young star raise questions about how planets form

Plan developed to characterize and identify ocean worlds

ICE WORLD
SwRI team makes breakthroughs studying Pluto orbiter mission

ALMA maps temperature of Jupiter's icy moon Europa

NASA's Juno Mission Detects Jupiter Wave Trains

WorldWide Telescope looks ahead to New Horizons' Ultima Thule glyby









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.