Greenpeace called on governments to ratify a United Nations treaty for ocean protection, aiming to establish the first marine preservation area in the high seas around Ecuador’s renowned Galapagos archipelago.
“We must protect this area” with its unique fauna and flora where “industrial fishing fleets continue to plunder the oceans,” said Ruth Ramos of the Greenpeace Protect the Oceans campaign in a statement.
This area could become the first-ever marine protected zone under the High Seas Treaty, adopted by United Nations member states last June, which aims to safeguard vital marine ecosystems threatened by pollution, the environmental NGO stated.
The treaty, concluded after over 15 years of discussions, seeks to extend environmental protections to international waters, which cover more than 60 percent of the world’s oceans.
It will take effect 120 days after being ratified by 60 countries, a target activists hope to achieve by 2025.
To date, several dozen states have signed the treaty, but only two, Palau and Chile, have ratified it.
“This historic treaty, once ratified, will enable us to protect a vast area of international waters near the Galapagos Islands, safeguarding a vital migratory superhighway for marine life such as sharks and turtles,” said Ramos, who participated in a scientific expedition to the area.
Located around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off mainland Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands host unique flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth.
The islands' wonders inspired British scientist Charles Darwin to develop his groundbreaking theory of evolution by natural selection in the 19th century.
Ramos noted that the governments of Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, and Costa Rica have taken “admirable steps” to protect the oceans within their national waters.
Under the treaty, “they now have a historic opportunity to demonstrate global leadership by protecting this key area of the high seas and further safeguarding the beauty and biodiversity of the Galapagos region for future generations.”
A high seas marine protected area in the region “would remove the threat of industrial fishing fleets,” Greenpeace stated.
“It would also protect a key area of the ocean that many threatened migratory species from Galapagos and adjacent marine regions must cross to reach crucial coastal habitats for pupping, nesting, and feeding.”
