Posted on 29 February
2012 - WELLINGTON, 28 February 2012 – A
new coalition of environmental groups and
notable people, the Antarctic Ocean Alliance
(AOA), launched its first report, “Antarctic
Ocean Legacy: A Marine Reserve for the Ross
Sea”, at a reception for Parliamentarians
and guests in Wellington today. The report
outlines a proposal and rationale for a
fully protected marine reserve in the Ross
Sea, to become the keystone of the world’s
largest network of marine protected areas
and no-take marine reserves in the Southern
Ocean around Antarctica.
The Alliance is made up of supporters such
as actor and UN Biodiversity Ambassador
Edward Norton, Oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle,
entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and some
16 global environmental organisations including
Greenpeace, WWF, Forest & Bird and ECO,
the Environment and Conservation Organisations
of NZ.
The new Alliance proposal calls for 3.6
million square kilometres of critical ecosystems
in the Ross Sea to be protected from fishing
and development. The Alliance proposal builds
on and strengthens the current Ross Sea
scenarios of the US and New Zealand governments,
encompassing three additional areas with
environmental features and critical habitats
for the protection of this unique ocean
ecosystem. If established, it would be the
world’s largest fully protected marine reserve.
The report describes the extraordinary and
fascinating ecosystems of the Ross Sea region
through the marine research to date and
creates a clear vision to protect this unique
ecosystem.
“The Ross Sea is one of the most amazing
and relatively untouched marine environments
on earth,” said the Alliance’s Chuck Fox.“
While there are two proposals on the table
to protect some of it, our report shows
that we need a much broader and ecosystems-focused
approach if we are to ensure this environment
remains healthy and stable.“
The regulatory body responsible for the
Ross Sea and the rest of the Southern Ocean
– the Commission for the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
– has agreed to create a network of marine
protected areas in some of the ocean around
Antarctica this year and next. However,
CCAMLR meets with limited public participation
and no media access and the Alliance believes
that, without public attention during the
process, only minimal protection will be
achieved.
The Alliance will launch the full global
campaign later today with a video, new website,
social media and call for public action
to “Join the Watch” of the issue and sign
a petition supporting Antarctica’s marine
protection.
“The fate of the Antarctic’s Ross Sea is
likely to be decided by 24 countries and
the EU this year and the global public knows
nothing about it,” said Alliance Campaign
Director Steve Campbell. “Now is the time
to protect this amazing environment but
we’ll need the global public involved to
make that happen.”
Antarctic waters make up almost 10% of the
world’s seas and are some of the most intact
left on earth. Home to almost 10,000 unique
and diverse species such as penguins, seals
and whales, these waters are now at risk
from the impacts of commercial fishing and
climate change. In addition to the Ross
Sea region outlined, the Alliance is calling
for 19 critical habitats in Antarctica’s
Southern Ocean to be protected and will
release a report in the coming months analysing
all of these critical habitats.
The Antarctic Ocean Alliance is a coalition
of high-profile individuals such as actor
and UN Biodiversity Ambassador Edward Norton,
Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and entrepreneur
Sir Richard Branson as well as leading environmental
groups. These include Greenpeace, WWF, Humane
Society International, the Antarctic and
Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), the Blue
Marine Foundation (UK), Mission Blue (US),
Oceans 5 (US), Deep Wave (Germany), The
Last Ocean, Forest & Bird (NZ), ECO
(NZ), and associate partners the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Korean
Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM),
Greenovation Hub (China), Oceana, the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Ocean Planet
(Australia) and other groups worldwide.
