‘IT is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose, should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life.” So wrote Rachel Carson, the woman whose dire warnings about pesticides in Silent Spring spurred an entire movement of environmentalists to rise up and tackle the most harmful chemicals polluting our landscapes. But when it comes to the oceans, progress has been slow to grapple with these human threats.
This month, governments have an opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth. Tomorrow, representatives from 24 countries plus the EU will gather for two weeks in Hobart, Tasmania, to discuss protections for the Antarctic Ocean.
On their agenda is a proposal for a 1.8 million square kilometre ocean sanctuary in the Weddell Sea, one of the coldest seas on the planet.
Creating this Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary would create a safe haven for a third of the world’s emperor penguins that call the Weddell Sea home. It would provide space for the whales that travel thousands of miles on months-long migrations to feed in the nutrition-rich waters, free from the industrial fishing fleets targeting krill, their main food source, in other parts of the Antarctic.
This is not a mere glimmer of hope – more than two million people around the world are demanding that leaders create an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary.
Ocean sanctuaries – areas of the ocean that are off-limits to industrial exploitation – allow wildlife to recover from past pressures and build resilience to ongoing threats. While we need action on land to move past fossil fuels and stop the flow of plastic into the ocean – where the Scottish Government has been ahead of the curve – we know that well-managed, large-scale sanctuaries at sea work.
In and around them, we find wildlife that is more abundant, physically bigger and with greater diversity. Seas that are thriving with life can store more carbon and help to underpin global food security. Put simply, creating a global network of ocean sanctuaries is vital to the future of our oceans and affects us all.
Scientists tell us that we need to protect at least a third of the world’s oceans by 2030 to safeguard biodiversity and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Yet right now, protected areas cover just 4% of the world’s oceans – and less than 1% of the global oceans beyond national borders.
These international waters cover nearly half the surface of the planet. They comprise the largest ecosystem on Earth and cover more space than all the continents combined. They contain the highest and longest chain of mountains anywhere on our planet, ancient coral reefs sustaining the oldest known life forms, and trenches deep enough to hold Mount Everest.
Scientists discover new and unique species on every expedition they undertake, going down several kilometres to the depths of the ocean. But without protections, we could destroy wonders we haven’t even discovered yet.
The UK Government recently announced support for protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. It’s all too rare to see ministers heeding scientific advice and backing an ambition that is actually in line with what’s needed to conserve wildlife and tackle climate change. This is a bold statement, which sets the bar for where the internationally community needs to get to over the next decade.
That doesn’t mean delaying action for 12 years. These years will be crucial for determining what kind of world we live in. After more than a decade of talk, governments worldwide have agreed to develop new global rules at the United Nations to protect biodiversity on the high seas – a Global Ocean Treaty. Negotiations started last month, with the aim to create a new treaty by 2020.
But why wait for then? Right now we have a historic opportunity to protect the Antarctic Ocean. Despite their extreme temperatures, the waters surrounding Antarctica are home to a flurrying multitude of life.
Yet these wonders face increasing threats. Parts of the Antarctic are warming at the fastest rates on Earth, industrial fishing vessels are targeting the bedrock of the foodchain, and Greenpeace’s expedition revealed the presence of plastic pollution and hazardous chemicals in Antarctic waters and snow. While our work with scientists should lead to local protection for vulnerable marine ecosystems on the Antarctic seafloor, we need a sanctuary that can help the Antarctic Ocean resist these growing pressures.
Creating an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary would demonstrate exactly the kind of international co-operation that is needed if we’re to create a brighter future for our global oceans. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us, but now is the time to turn the tide.
Louisa Casson is an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK
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