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 🌎 ⛵️
Update: Only One and the Shell Accountability Coalition made our first petition delivery in Beaver County on June 8th, 2023. Combined with petitions from Friends of the Earth and Earthworks, we delivered more than 60,000 total signatures to the Beaver County Commissioners. Shell just turned on a massive industrial plastics complex in Western Pennsylvania that risks poisoning the local air and water. Add your name to urge Shell to implement basic health and safety measures to protect the surrounding communities from danger.
The decision to turn on the petrochemical facility — which converts fossil fuels into single-use plastic products — comes despite fierce opposition from local Beaver County residents to prevent the plant’s 24 hour pollution cycle from contaminating the Ohio River and surrounding community.
The Shell facility utilizes a similar process to create plastic as the facilities that line the banks of Cancer Alley — a corridor along the Mississippi river so toxic that the risk of cancer for residents is up to 50 times higher than the rest of the country.