We are so excited to tell you about a major victory that our supporters helped achieve. Yesterday at the UN Ocean Conference, the Colombian government announced it will create four new official marine reserves, including one expanding the fully protected Malpelo Sanctuary of Fauna and Flora. Colombia will now surpass the goal of protecting 30% of its waters eight years before the 2030 deadline! The initiative to protect 30% of the global ocean by the year 2030, referred to as 30x30, is a target that scientists have indicated is necessary in order to prevent irreversible loss of marine life. A huge thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on the petition to protect the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor. And, of course, this win would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Colombia’s environmental, fishing, and maritime authorities, along with scientists, the private fishing sector, nonprofits, and the people of Colombia. With this remarkable action, Colombia will strengthen local fisheries, sustainable livelihoods, and the protection of marine biodiversity in its native waters and throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor. If you’d like to move another campaign to create sanctuaries close to victory, consider adding your name to the brand-new petition to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 🌎 ⛵️
Add your name to the official letter to stop deep-sea mining, and we’ll deliver your signature to United Nations and International Seabed Authority Leaders.
Update: 27 nations have now taken positions against deep-sea mining in international waters: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Samoa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the kingdom of Denmark, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.
For decades, large corporations have poisoned rivers, devastated forests, and displaced communities. Now, they’re rushing to mine minerals from the last untouched frontier on the planet — the deep sea.
The deep sea may be vast and unexplored, but it is incredibly important. It encompasses 95% of the ocean’s volume and is the largest and least explored of Earth’s ecosystems. Some scientists believe that the deep sea and its water column may be the largest carbon sink on Earth, and new species are still being found there.
