inbluevt | Date: Monday, 2013/07/15, 10:06 PM | Message # 1 | DMCA |
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WASHINGTON, Jul 15 2013 (IPS) - International negotiations between more than two-dozen countries to set up conservation areas in the Antarctic seas were thrown into confusion Monday when the Russian and Ukrainian delegations questioned the body’s legal standing to make such designations, despite previous precedent.
Representatives from 25 countries are currently in special two-day talks in Germany under the auspices of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), an organisation that over the past half-century has been widely credited with keeping the Southern Ocean in unusually pristine condition.
“This morning a legal question came to the table [on]whether CCAMLR is in a position to establish marine protected areas [MPAs]in the Ross Sea,” Terje Lobach, chair of the CCAMLR Commission, told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of the talks in Bremerhaven, Germany, according to a recording obtained by IPS.
“The issue was raised by Russia and also by Ukraine, whether CCAMLR really has the competence of establishing MPAs … But many lawyers spoke against the suggestion by Russia and Ukraine and said definitely CCAMLR has the power to mandate MPAs.”
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Mt. Herschel from Cape Hallet, Antarctica with Seabee Hook penguin colony in foreground. Credit: Andrew Mandemaker/cc by 2.5
Message edited by inbluevt - Monday, 2013/07/15, 10:13 PM |
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