Earth News from TerraDaily.com
Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
Sydney, Oct 8 (AFP) Oct 08, 2024
Australia moved Tuesday to protect a swathe of ocean territory by expanding an Antarctic marine park that is home to penguins, seals, whales and the country's only two active volcanos.

The marine reserve -- Heard Island and McDonald Island -- located 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) from Antarctica, will quadruple in size under the announcement.

This means 52 percent of the nation's seas will be protected, a government statement said, cementing Australia's place among leading countries safeguarding seas.

It will also see Australia blitz the global 30 percent United Nations target by 2030 that Australia signed up to in 2022.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the announcement was a "huge environmental win".

"This is a unique and extraordinary part of our planet. We are doing everything we can to protect it," she said.

Australia's remoteness and vastness means it is somewhat easier to protect oceans than in other countries, particularly in parts that are used less frequently for fishing.

For example, commercial fisheries are a vital part of Tasmania's economy -- the local abalone industry provides about 25 percent of the annual global harvest -- and only 1.1 percent of its waters are protected, government data show.

WWF-Australia's head of oceans Richard Leck said the country had a "significant amount of work to ensure our network of marine parks is comprehensive, adequate and representative".

He added strong protections were still missing for many key ocean conservation areas.

"Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot and one of the world's largest coastal nations, so it's important that we do some of the heaviest lifting to care for our precious marine ecosystems and the species they call home," he said.

But Leck said the final plan did not protect "some of the islands' highest priority conservation areas", including critical foraging habitat for king penguins and black-browed albatross.

"Without increased protection, these critical foraging grounds will remain exposed to pressures like commercial fishing," he said.





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
China shares moon rocks with U.S.and 5 other nations
China launches three astronauts to Tiangong space station
SpaceX launches 28 Starlink Internet satellites from Florida

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Trump signs order to ramp up US deep-sea mining
Nigeria court orders seizure of 73 properties linked to Chinese scam suspects
China says wind and solar energy capacity exceeds thermal for first time

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
How Space Exploration Opens Up New Horizons for Global Security and Governance
Iran's defence, missiles not part of US nuclear talks says foreign office
Hegseth dismisses Pentagon advisory committees

24/7 News Coverage
Trump scraps US office on climate diplomacy
China says US deep-sea mining plan 'violates international law'
India, Pakistan and threats of a water war: what we know


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.