SANTIAGO: Members of a multinational group on Antarctic conservation fail­ed to agree on Friday on a roadmap for the creation of three new marine protected areas — a goal that has proven elusive for years.

“No agreement was reached. It was not possible to obtain... a road map” for protected areas in the seas around Antarctica, Cesar Cardenas, a member of the Chilean Antarctic Institute and part of the Chilean delegation, said. Cardenas said Russia and China resisted new protected areas.

The bid to create the sanctuaries around Antarctica to counter climate change and protect fragile ocean ecosystems would safeguard nearly four million more square kilometres of ocean from human activities. The areas are home to penguins, seals, toothfish, whales and huge numbers of krill — a staple food for many species.

Members of the Commis­sion for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) met to discuss plans for three new marine protected areas (MPAs): in East Antar­ctica, the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula.

There are two in Antarctica now: around the South Orkney Islands, comprising an area of 94,000 square kilometres, created in 2009, and one of 2 million square kilometres in the Ross Sea region, established in 2016. Activists voiced disappointment at the lack of action.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2023