PUERTO AYORA: Greenpeace on Monday referred to as for the creation of a excessive seas marine protected zone underneath a brand new UN treaty to safe a a lot wider space round Ecuador’s well-known Galapagos archipelago.
The islands, whose distinctive fauna and flora impressed British scientist Charles Darwin’s principle of evolution, are residence to one of many world’s largest marine protected areas, within the japanese Pacific Ocean.
However “simply outdoors the Galapagos protected space, industrial fishing fleets proceed to plunder the oceans. We should defend this space,” Ruth Ramos of the Greenpeace Defend the Oceans marketing campaign mentioned in an announcement.
Greenpeace urged governments to ratify the so-called Excessive Seas Treaty adopted by United Nations member states final June to permit for the creation of an expanded protected space in worldwide waters, outdoors of any nation’s jurisdiction.
“This historic treaty, as soon as ratified, will allow us to guard an unlimited space of worldwide waters close to the Galapagos Islands, safeguarding an important migratory superhighway for marine life comparable to sharks and turtles,” mentioned Ramos.
The environmental activist group is finishing up a scientific expedition within the Galapagos, which is residence to some 3,000 marine species like sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, sea lions and marine iguanas, to call a couple of.
The Galapagos islands, some 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the mainland of Ecuador, have wildlife discovered nowhere else on this planet.
‘Historic alternative’
The prevailing Galapagos marine reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage web site created in 1998, is “top-of-the-line examples of ocean safety in motion. However it’s nonetheless an exception in a world the place solely three p.c of the ocean is at the moment absolutely or extremely protected,” Ramos mentioned earlier within the expedition.
The Excessive Seas Treaty was adopted after greater than 15 years of discussions to increase environmental protections to worldwide waters which make up greater than 60 p.c of the world’s oceans.
It could go into impact 120 days after being ratified by 60 nations — a objective activists hope to achieve by 2025.
To date it has been signed by a number of dozen states however ratified by solely two: Palau and Chile.
Ramos mentioned the governments of Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica have taken “admirable steps” to guard the oceans of their nationwide waters.
Beneath the treaty, “they now have a historic alternative to reveal world management by defending this key space of the excessive seas and additional safeguarding the wonder and biodiversity of the Galapagos area for future generations.”
Greenpeace mentioned this may very well be the primary marine protected space created for the reason that treaty was adopted and “would take away the specter of industrial fishing fleets.”
“It will additionally defend a key space of ocean that many threatened migratory species from Galapagos and adjoining marine areas should cross with a purpose to attain key coastal habitats for pupping, nesting and feeding.”
The islands, whose distinctive fauna and flora impressed British scientist Charles Darwin’s principle of evolution, are residence to one of many world’s largest marine protected areas, within the japanese Pacific Ocean.
However “simply outdoors the Galapagos protected space, industrial fishing fleets proceed to plunder the oceans. We should defend this space,” Ruth Ramos of the Greenpeace Defend the Oceans marketing campaign mentioned in an announcement.
Greenpeace urged governments to ratify the so-called Excessive Seas Treaty adopted by United Nations member states final June to permit for the creation of an expanded protected space in worldwide waters, outdoors of any nation’s jurisdiction.
“This historic treaty, as soon as ratified, will allow us to guard an unlimited space of worldwide waters close to the Galapagos Islands, safeguarding an important migratory superhighway for marine life comparable to sharks and turtles,” mentioned Ramos.
The environmental activist group is finishing up a scientific expedition within the Galapagos, which is residence to some 3,000 marine species like sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, sea lions and marine iguanas, to call a couple of.
The Galapagos islands, some 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off the mainland of Ecuador, have wildlife discovered nowhere else on this planet.
‘Historic alternative’
The prevailing Galapagos marine reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage web site created in 1998, is “top-of-the-line examples of ocean safety in motion. However it’s nonetheless an exception in a world the place solely three p.c of the ocean is at the moment absolutely or extremely protected,” Ramos mentioned earlier within the expedition.
The Excessive Seas Treaty was adopted after greater than 15 years of discussions to increase environmental protections to worldwide waters which make up greater than 60 p.c of the world’s oceans.
It could go into impact 120 days after being ratified by 60 nations — a objective activists hope to achieve by 2025.
To date it has been signed by a number of dozen states however ratified by solely two: Palau and Chile.
Ramos mentioned the governments of Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica have taken “admirable steps” to guard the oceans of their nationwide waters.
Beneath the treaty, “they now have a historic alternative to reveal world management by defending this key space of the excessive seas and additional safeguarding the wonder and biodiversity of the Galapagos area for future generations.”
Greenpeace mentioned this may very well be the primary marine protected space created for the reason that treaty was adopted and “would take away the specter of industrial fishing fleets.”
“It will additionally defend a key space of ocean that many threatened migratory species from Galapagos and adjoining marine areas should cross with a purpose to attain key coastal habitats for pupping, nesting and feeding.”
