Context
Members of a multinational group on Antarctic conservation failed to agree on a roadmap for the creation of 3 new marine protected areas.
- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) – It is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity.
- Many MPAs allow people to use the area in ways that do not damage the environment.
- Some ban fishing and a few do not allow people to enter the area at all.
MPAs in Southern Ocean
- The Southern Ocean has 2 existing MPAs
- Southern shelf of the South Orkney Islands –
- Ross Sea
- All types of fishing, other than scientific research, are prohibited within the southern shelf of the South Orkney Islands MPA.
- New 3 MPAs – Since 2012, the European Union and Australia have proposed an MPA in East Antarctica.
- The EU and Norway proposed an MPA in the Weddell Sea, while Chile and Argentina proposed an MPA in the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula.
- In 2021, India extended its support for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as MPA.
- 30X 30 goal – A global target to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030 (known as ’30×30′).
Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
- It was established by an international convention in 1982.
- Aim – To conserve Antarctic marine life.
- This was in response to increasing commercial interest in Antarctic krill resources, a keystone component of the Antarctic ecosystem and a history of over-exploitation of several other marine resources in the Southern Ocean.
- Members – 27 Members, and a further 10 countries have acceded to the Convention.
- India is a Member of CCAMLR.
Read also:- Oceans Resources
