Current Affairs - Defence - Discussion

The plan to create the world's largest marine sanctuary in Antarctica waters was shot down as the environmentalists denounced a lack of scientific foresight and hence the key conservation summit failed to reach a consensus. Member states of the organisation tasked with overseeing the sustainable exploitation of the Southern Ocean failed at an annual meeting to agree over the 1.8 million sq km maritime protection zone. The proposed sanctuary is around five times the size of Germany. The proposed sanctuary would ban fishing in a vast area in the Weddell sea, protecting key species including seals, penguins and whales. A consensus is needed from all 24 members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the European Union.