香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播

Story 22 Oct, 2013

There is hope for the ocean

Thirty one new Hope Spots - places that are critical to the health of the ocean - were announced yesterday by renowned oceanographer and 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Patron Sylvia Earle, a global initiative of the Sylvia Earle Alliance 鈥淢ission Blue鈥 and 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播, with the aim to scale up the marine protection necessary for a sustainable development of the ocean.

A Hope Spot is an area of ocean that merits special protection because of its wildlife and significant underwater habitats. Some are already formally protected, while others still need protection.

The Central Arctic Ocean, The White Shark Caf茅 and Ascension Island are among the new areas added yesterday to the 19 Hope Spots that Mission Blue has been working to protect over the last four years.

鈥淲hat we鈥檝e done here is identify a number of critical areas that represent a real hope to restore the health of our imperiled ocean,鈥 says Sylvia Earle. 鈥淭he pristine seas, the World Heritage areas, marine sanctuaries, marine protected areas, reserves 鈥 whatever they鈥檙e called. We started with 19, now the number is 50 but for me there really is just one Hope Spot 鈥 it鈥檚 the ocean.鈥

鈥淭he ocean as a system, our life-support system, is in trouble and whatever we can do, whether it鈥檚 in our community, state or country, region, or in the high seas, we should really respect what the ocean gives us,鈥 says Sylvia Earle. 鈥淣ot what we can take out of the ocean in terms of pounds of fish, minerals, oil or gas or the fact that we can use the ocean as a dumpsite. What we extract from the ocean that鈥檚 most meaningful is our existence. Our job should be to return this favour and keep the ocean alive.鈥

"Hope Spots are a wonderful network of places around the world which are new to many of us," says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director, 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 Global Marine and Polar Programme. "These are areas that in many ways represent all the amazing things we have in the ocean. This is a great opportunity to really cherish these areas and make sure we take care of them for the next generation.鈥

The new Hope Spots were announced during the 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC3) currently taking place in Marseille, France. Co-organized by 香港六合彩开奖结果现场直播 and the French Marine Protected Areas Agency, IMPAC3 gathers over 1,200 marine specialists and ministers from around the world to propose solutions for the conservation and sustainable development of our oceans.

To find out more and see a map of the Hope Spots please visit the website.