Amsterdam – After two weeks of negotiations in Tasmania, the Antarctic Ocean Commission has failed once again to deliver protection for the Antarctic.
This lack of progress is a marked contrast to the positive international dynamics which resulted in the UN Ocean Treaty being agreed this year. More than 80 countries signed the Treaty at the United Nations General Assembly in September, demonstrating their commitment to its ratification.[1]
Jehki Härkönen, Ocean Policy Advisor, Greenpeace International, said:
"Another year, another failed Antarctic Ocean Commission meeting. The Commission can always agree to new fishing licenses, but can't agree on a concrete pathway forwards on protection. We've been promised new protected areas in the Antarctic for many years now, but haven't seen any progress. The pressures facing the Antarctic, one of Earth's last great wildernesses, worsen every year. The Commission's dysfunctional dynamics must change, before it's too late."
A meeting should also be held in June 2024 to discuss at the same time krill fishing in West Antarctic and Marine protected areas.
"It's frustrating to see The Commission setting another meeting to delay decisions that need to be made urgently. The lack of progress seen during this session does not meet the challenges facing the region", added Jehki Härkönen.
In recent months several scientific studies documented the risks in the region. According to a new study published in October, human-caused climate change makes West Antarctic ice-shelf melting "unavoidable".[2]
At the end of September, alarming preliminary new figures show Antarctic sea ice has likely hit the low winter maximum, more than one million square kilometres (386,000 square miles) below the previous record set in 1986, exposing the damage wrought by climate change on one of the most fragile yet crucial regions on Earth.[3]
