Cómo proteger a la Antártida.

 

Antarctic Marine Protection Process Still Healthy Despite Talks' Failure.

By The Editors, on 22 Jul 2013, Global Insider

 

Meeting in Bremerhaven, Germany, last week, the group of nations charged with regulating Antarctic fishing failed to reach agreement on the establishment of marine protected areas due to Russian objections to the legality of the group’s mandate. In an email interview, Julia Jabour, leader of the Ocean and Antarctic Governance Research Program at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania, explained the process leading up to the talks and what the failure of talks means for Antarctic marine protection.

WPR: What was the process that led to the talks last week in Bremerhaven?

Julia Jabour: At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, a global representative network of marine protected areas (MPAs) was envisaged by 2012. Working to meet this deadline, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) established the world’s first high seas MPA in 2009 for the South Orkney Islands southern shelf. At the 2012 CCAMLR meeting, four proposals on establishing MPAs were submitted for consideration under Conservation Measure 91-04, “General Framework for the Establishment of CCAMLR Marine Protected Areas.” This measure prescribes the process and importantly the six key objectives of MPAs: maintaining the viability and integrity of representative examples of marine ecosystems; protecting key ecosystem processes, habitats and species; establishing scientific reference areas; protecting vulnerable areas; protecting features critical to local ecosystems; and protecting the resilience of areas to climate change. MPA proposals must also take full account of the CCAMLR philosophy that conservation includes rational use.

As these four proposals were all matters of substance, consensus decisions were required under the rules of procedure. The proposals generated considerable discussion, consultation and revision of language and approach, and although progress was made, consensus was not reached on any of the bids. Concerns, as reflected in the meeting report, rested partly on the scientific justification for the MPAs and partly on the erroneous perception that all MPAs are automatically no-take fishing zones. Nevertheless, CCAMLR had accepted the concept and designed the framework; building consensus on specific proposals was thought to be the next step.

Generally, rejected proposals can’t be reconsidered until the next meeting of the commission, but the commission has the discretion to convene an extraordinary meeting, hence the Bremerhaven Special Meeting last week.

WPR: What does the nature of the Russian objection—legal as opposed to scientific—indicate about the possibility of future cooperation under this mechanism?

Jabour: Whether or not CCAMLR has legal competence to establish high seas marine protected areas was raised in Bremerhaven and will need to be resolved before the proposals can be reconsidered. Many members thought this had already been resolved through CM91-04, which was adopted by consensus in 2011. Consensus has generally served CCAMLR well, and history shows that decisions imposed by majority vote are bound to be problematic. (The International Whaling Commission is a forum in which this occurs.) Consensus might continue to be used as a blocking mechanism by some members who had concerns or changes of heart about issues such as the size of these MPAs, their duration and management plans, or for bargaining on other unrelated agenda items such as opening up new fishing areas. But this can also be a healthy situation if it signals that the pluralistic process is working. The system is not perfect, but it is trusted and valued by the members, who will continue to work toward brokering agreements on MPAs.

WPR: Where does the failure to reach agreement at Bremerhaven leave the state of Antarctic marine protection?

Jabour: The Antarctic marine environment is protected in a number of ways: through CCAMLR fishing and conservation regulations, and through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty’s regulation of all other human activities, for example shipping and marine science. The designation of MPAs is available to CCAMLR members, but also to Antarctic Treaty consultative parties; however, if the latter want to apply special protection to marine areas, they must first gain CCAMLR’s approval. The lack of consensus in Bremerhaven will not jeopardize the marine environment, which independently receives broad-ranging protection through other mechanisms.