A plan to create the world’s largest marine sanctuary in Antarctic waters was shot down when a key conservation summit failed to reach a consensus, with environmentalists on Saturday decrying a lack of scientific foresight.
The proposed sanctuary – some five times the size of Germany – would ban fishing in a vast area in the Weddell sea, protecting key species including seals, penguins and whales.
But environmental groups say Russia and China – whose concerns over compliance issues and fishing rights have proved key stumbling blocks in the past – along with Norway, played a part in rejecting the plan.
"This was an historic opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic: safeguarding wildlife, tackling climate change and improving the health of our global oceans," Greenpeace’s Frida Bengtsson said in a statement on Saturday.
Andrea Kavanagh, head of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Antarctic and Southern Ocean work, described the failure to achieve an MPA designation as "discouraging".
The CCAMLR released a statement saying the new MPAs were the "subject of much discussion" and would be considered again at next year’s meeting.