MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Campaign for Antarctic Marine Reserve launched

The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a coalition of 16 environmental groups, has launched a campaign calling for the full protection of 3.6 million square kilometres of the Ross Sea, as well as the creation of the 18 more reserves in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica.

AOA campaign Director Steve Campbell said, “Now is the time to protect this amazing environment but we’ll need the global public involved to make that happen.”

AOA has set up a website: http://www.antarcticocean.org/home.php where the public can make their views known.

“The fate of the Antarctic’s Ross Sea is likely to be decided by 24 countries and the European Union this year and the global public knows nothing about it,” Campbell pointed out referring to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is responsible for managing the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.

CCAMLR is part of the Antarctic Treaty System and its goal is to preserve marine life and environmental integrity in and around Antarctica.

The Convention was opened for signature on 1 August 1980 and entered into force on 7 April 1982 and is headquartered in Tasmania, Australia.

The proposed plan from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance is the most ambitious to date.

CCAMLR will be discussing the proposal in October.

Nick Tozer - Buenos Aires