Ministers and senior officials from fifteen countries proposing and sponsoring Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica, included Argentina, expressed their strong support for the designation of MPAs in Antarctic waters during a high-level virtual meeting convened by the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The meeting, that took place last April 28, was aimed at giving visibility and making advances on this important environmental issue, which is a priority for the global political agenda and the Antarctic Treaty System. It also entailed a joint declaration in support of Antarctic MPAs.
There are currently three MPA proposals pending approval within the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which covers the oceans surrounding Antarctica.
During the virtual meeting, on behalf of Argentina, the Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Filmus, highlighted “Argentina’s firm policy aimed at protecting its marine ecosystems in the South Atlantic, where over 8% of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is currently covered by MPAs, and with a new benthic MPA, known as Agujero Azul (Blue Hole). The proposal to create this MPA is under debate at the National Congress.
Filmus also underlined “the high-quality work done with Chile” and expressed “Argentina’s strong commitment to the CCAMLR goals, particularly to the MPAs as a necessary tool to protect the fragile Antarctic ecosystem”.
Proposals in East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea are co-sponsored by the European Union and its member states together with Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
Argentina and Chile have submitted in 2018 a joint proposal to create an MPA in the Western Antarctic Peninsula and Southern Scotia Arc, an area rich in marine biodiversity that contains 75% of all Antarctic krill, seriously affected by human activity such as fishing and the severe impacts of climate change.
The virtual meeting was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Andrés Allamand, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry; and the UK Minister for Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign Office, Zac Goldsmith, among others.
The CCAMLR will celebrate its 40th meeting next October, when the MPAs proposals will be considered.
