Big news for the ocean at the IUCN Congress

Photo©IUCN/Abhi Indrarajan/Workers Photos

As a newly fledged member of the IUCN, Frank's vote at the Members' Assembly helped the adoption of several key motions to shape the future of global conservation in Abu Dhabi this past week. Of particular note for the protection of the ocean were motions 035: Protection of the mesopelagic zone, calling for stronger regulation of human activity in this vital, deep-sea ecosystem and a halt to the expansion of industrial activities, including fishing and deep-sea mining, in the "twilight zone", motion 056: Advancing an ethical human-ocean relationship, which calls for a shift from ocean exploitation to one of stewardship and respect, recognizing the ocean as a living entity with inherent rights, and calling for a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights to be established by 2030, motion 032: Protecting seamounts and other vulnerable marine ecosystems from the destructive impacts of bottom-trawling and other fishing activities and motion 42: phasing out fossil fuels, a motion which highlights the responsibility of the fossil fuel industry for more the deleterious effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the ocean.