2024-03-12 05:00:52
This content was published on March 12, 2024 – 06:00
(Keystone-ATS) Greenpeace on Monday called for the creation of a global marine reserve in the high seas off Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago in the eastern Pacific. The NGO denounced the presence of industrial fishing fleets which “plunder” resources.
The governments of the planet “must give life to the historic United Nations treaty (signed in 2023) on the oceans in order to create a marine protected area on the borders of the emblematic Galapagos Islands,” she pleads. “This protected area would thus become the first marine protected area” created on the high seas, underlined Greenpeace.
Paradise for marine wildlife
Created in 1998 by the Ecuadorian government, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 2001, the Galapagos marine reserve is “probably the best conservation project carried out in the oceans”, underlines Greenpeace, which chose to go on an expedition “ in this unique place to highlight this success.”
Giant turtles from the depths of time, hammerhead sharks, sea lions and other iguanas abound in this marine life paradise, where Charles Darwin gave birth to the theory of evolution.
Industrial fleets in ambush
But “just outside the Galapagos protected area, industrial fishing fleets continue to plunder the oceans. We must protect this area,” insists the press release.
“In March 2023, all governments agreed on a historic UN ocean treaty that will allow us to do just that. This historic treaty, once ratified, will allow us to protect a vast area of international waters near the Galapagos Islands, thereby safeguarding a vital migratory highway for marine life such as sharks and turtles,” explains Greenpeace.
The governments of the region, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica, “have already taken admirable steps to protect the oceans in their national waters. (…) Next to the Galapagos Marine Reserve, the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (CMAR) initiative, was formed by Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica, with the aim of creating a protected corridor crossing their national waters”.
“The creation of a marine protected area on the high seas (…) would eliminate the threat posed by industrial fishing fleets and strengthen national conservation measures implemented by WCAR countries.”
Protect 30% of the oceans by 2030
“It would also protect a key area of the ocean that many endangered migratory species from the Galapagos and adjacent marine regions must cross to reach key coastal habitats where they breed, nest and feed,” the environmental organization concludes.
Signed in March 2023 by 88 countries, the global ocean treaty must regulate the protection of the high seas and seabeds, with the stated objective of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030.
It is a tool that governments can use to create marine protected areas in international waters. But only two countries have ratified it to date. “If its signature was a great success, it will only come to life when at least 60 countries have ratified it (…)”, insists Greenpeace.
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