Chile and Argentina want to create protected area in Antarctica

Chile has joined Argentina in calling for creating a protected area in Antarctica.

The request was presented to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Australia, which began on Oct. 24 in the city of Horbart and will last until Nov. 4.

The idea, pushed by Chile and Argentina, originated in 2018 and aimed to protect an area of 650,000 square kilometers around the Antarctic Peninsula to reduce pressure on marine life in the area.

The goal is to ban krill fishing in the feeding grounds of penguins and other species in the Antarctic region.

Also on the table are two European proposals to declare a vast area of more than three million square kilometers in the East Antarctic and Weddell Seas a protected area.

The establishment of marine protected areas within “CCAMLR” is a complex matter, all the more so when decisions are made by consensus.

The body has already failed several times, including at the 2019 summit, when the idea of establishing marine protected areas failed for the eighth time in a row.

The debate was opposed by Russia and China.

“At a time of increasing biodiversity loss and climate change threats, it is despairing that CCAMLR has failed for the eighth year in a row to protect Antarctic waters,” Andrea Kavanagh of The Pew Charitable Trusts said at the time.

Founded in 1982, CCAMLR works to protect Antarctic marine life.

It has twenty-five countries as members, including the European Union, Australia, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, South Korea, Spain, the United States, France, and others.

The European proposals and the Chilean-Argentine demand are being closely scrutinized by Russia, which doubts the initiative.

U.S. officials are following up on Russia’s doubts.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina aimed at Russia, telling Australia’s Guardian that it was “time for them to withdraw their objections and side with conservation.”