SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A campaign by Greenpeace to protect the waters surrounding Antarctica would create the world's largest wildlife sanctuary, safeguarding the fish that penguins and whales rely on to survive. (Photo: Michael Setboun/Getty Images)
To Save Oceans and Planet, Greenpeace Backs Plan to Create Largest Protected Area on Earth
"We are in desperate need for governments to come together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems."
Jan 15, 2018
Greenpeace is launching a campaign on Monday to back the creation of the largest protected area in the history of conservation by setting aside 700,000 square miles of seas surrounding Antarctica in order to save fragile marine ecosystems and curb the damage to key planetary systems.
"The Antarctic is home to an abundance of wildlife," wrote Will McCallum, head of oceans for Greenpeace, on the group's blog. "Whales, penguins and colossal squid are just a few of the many animals who call it home. And it's not just important to animals--the health of our oceans sustains our planet, and provides billions of people with their livelihoods. But threats from overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change mean we urgently need a network of sanctuaries across the world to restore our oceans' health."
First proposed by the European Union, the Protect the Antarctic campaign would create the world's largest wildlife sanctuary, banning all fishing in the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula. Industrial krill fishing in the area has killed off large quantities of a small crustacean that larger animals including penguins and whales rely on for food.
"The next few years are absolutely essential for the future of our oceans and we are in desperate need for governments to come together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems," McCallum told the Guardian.
The group will urge countries including Norway, Russia, South Korea, and China--all of which have large krill fishing industries--to back the proposal.
"World leaders shouldn't allow an ocean wilderness to be exploited by a handful of companies," said McCallum. "In the 1980s it took a global movement to protect the Antarctic's land. Now we need to protect its oceans."
In addition to protecting species within Antarctica's ecosystem, creating a sanctuary within the waters would help to curb climate crisis by allowing the seas to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to marine experts.
"The Antarctic is very important in locking away carbon in deep-sea sediments," Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York, told the Guardian. "There is also a very rapid rate of sinking there--it has some of the coldest waters in the world...and this sinking is one of the great pumps of the global ocean system."
More than 100,000 people from around the world have signed a petition backing Greenpeace's proposal, urging the U.K. to offer its support for the Protect the Antarctic campaign.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) consisting of 24 countries and the E.U., will meet in October to decide whether to adopt the plan.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Greenpeace is launching a campaign on Monday to back the creation of the largest protected area in the history of conservation by setting aside 700,000 square miles of seas surrounding Antarctica in order to save fragile marine ecosystems and curb the damage to key planetary systems.
"The Antarctic is home to an abundance of wildlife," wrote Will McCallum, head of oceans for Greenpeace, on the group's blog. "Whales, penguins and colossal squid are just a few of the many animals who call it home. And it's not just important to animals--the health of our oceans sustains our planet, and provides billions of people with their livelihoods. But threats from overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change mean we urgently need a network of sanctuaries across the world to restore our oceans' health."
First proposed by the European Union, the Protect the Antarctic campaign would create the world's largest wildlife sanctuary, banning all fishing in the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula. Industrial krill fishing in the area has killed off large quantities of a small crustacean that larger animals including penguins and whales rely on for food.
"The next few years are absolutely essential for the future of our oceans and we are in desperate need for governments to come together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems," McCallum told the Guardian.
The group will urge countries including Norway, Russia, South Korea, and China--all of which have large krill fishing industries--to back the proposal.
"World leaders shouldn't allow an ocean wilderness to be exploited by a handful of companies," said McCallum. "In the 1980s it took a global movement to protect the Antarctic's land. Now we need to protect its oceans."
In addition to protecting species within Antarctica's ecosystem, creating a sanctuary within the waters would help to curb climate crisis by allowing the seas to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to marine experts.
"The Antarctic is very important in locking away carbon in deep-sea sediments," Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York, told the Guardian. "There is also a very rapid rate of sinking there--it has some of the coldest waters in the world...and this sinking is one of the great pumps of the global ocean system."
More than 100,000 people from around the world have signed a petition backing Greenpeace's proposal, urging the U.K. to offer its support for the Protect the Antarctic campaign.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) consisting of 24 countries and the E.U., will meet in October to decide whether to adopt the plan.
Greenpeace is launching a campaign on Monday to back the creation of the largest protected area in the history of conservation by setting aside 700,000 square miles of seas surrounding Antarctica in order to save fragile marine ecosystems and curb the damage to key planetary systems.
"The Antarctic is home to an abundance of wildlife," wrote Will McCallum, head of oceans for Greenpeace, on the group's blog. "Whales, penguins and colossal squid are just a few of the many animals who call it home. And it's not just important to animals--the health of our oceans sustains our planet, and provides billions of people with their livelihoods. But threats from overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change mean we urgently need a network of sanctuaries across the world to restore our oceans' health."
First proposed by the European Union, the Protect the Antarctic campaign would create the world's largest wildlife sanctuary, banning all fishing in the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula. Industrial krill fishing in the area has killed off large quantities of a small crustacean that larger animals including penguins and whales rely on for food.
"The next few years are absolutely essential for the future of our oceans and we are in desperate need for governments to come together and do what is best for these amazing ecosystems," McCallum told the Guardian.
The group will urge countries including Norway, Russia, South Korea, and China--all of which have large krill fishing industries--to back the proposal.
"World leaders shouldn't allow an ocean wilderness to be exploited by a handful of companies," said McCallum. "In the 1980s it took a global movement to protect the Antarctic's land. Now we need to protect its oceans."
In addition to protecting species within Antarctica's ecosystem, creating a sanctuary within the waters would help to curb climate crisis by allowing the seas to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to marine experts.
"The Antarctic is very important in locking away carbon in deep-sea sediments," Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of York, told the Guardian. "There is also a very rapid rate of sinking there--it has some of the coldest waters in the world...and this sinking is one of the great pumps of the global ocean system."
More than 100,000 people from around the world have signed a petition backing Greenpeace's proposal, urging the U.K. to offer its support for the Protect the Antarctic campaign.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) consisting of 24 countries and the E.U., will meet in October to decide whether to adopt the plan.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.