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Independent Global Leaders Urge Russian President Putin to Rescue Antarctic Marine Reserve Negotiations
BREMERHAVEN, Germany , July 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Russia today challenged the legal basis that would allow for the creation of large-scale marine reserves in Antarctica . Negotiations are currently under way here at a special meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, or CCAMLR, to discuss the adoption of marine reserves in the Ross Sea and Eastern Antarctica totalling more than three million square kilometres.
"One wonders if Russia's efforts are a stalling tactic designed to bring negotiations to a halt," says Andrea Kavanagh of The Pew Charitable Trusts, attending CCAMLR meeting. "At the very least this move jeopardizes international cooperation and goodwill, two key ingredients needed for global marine conservation. We urge world leaders to appeal to Russia to work with other countries to responsibly govern the oceans we all share."
Russia is a founding member of the international Commission for the Conservation of Marine Antarctic Living Resources, which manages marine resources in the Southern Ocean and is comprised of 24 countries and the European Union.
The legal basis for CCAMLR's competence to establish large scale MPAs is clear and comes from several places:
In an open letter earlier, James Cameron , Sir
Richard Branson , Jean-Michel Cousteau, Dr.
Sylvia Earle , and Capt. Don Walsh wrote to President
Vladimir Putin to support Antarctic marine reserve designations.
Editors Notes :
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www.PewEnvironment.org/SouthernOcean