The European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, hosted a ministerial meeting on Wednesday 28 April to mobilise the members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in support of the designation of new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean, and specifically in support of the EU’s proposals for the establishment of MPAs, in particular the EU proposals to establish MPAs in East Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea (see EUROPE 11657/6).
This meeting was instrumental in developing a common strategy to enable the adoption of new MPAs within CCAMLR. The Commission was able to present the actions under the 'European Green Deal' that contribute to the protection of Antarctica.
At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Sinkevičius welcomed the adoption of a joint declaration (https://bit.ly/330u3hW ) “supporting the creation of the world’s largest marine protected area, which would cover more than three million km²”. He thanked the United States and New Zealand, who join the list of countries (Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Uruguay) working to protect the area around Antarctica.
The participants also expressed their support for the proposal by Argentina and Chile to establish a Marine Protected Area in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)