Largest marine protected area in the world (July 8th 2012) Largest marine protected area in the world (July 8th 2012)

Anthony Stephen ‘Tony’ Burke the 42 year old Australian politician and the current Minister for Sustainability and Environment announced that Australia is to create an enormous network of marine park reserves to protect waters from oil and gas exploration and limiting commercial fishing. In an article on Aljazeera, Burke states “The Coral Sea marine national park … combined with the Great Barrier Reef area, becomes the largest marine protected area in the world”. The article states Australia’s marine reserves will increase from 27 to 60 under the new scheme, covering more than 3 million sq km, or one third of the island nation’s waters. The announcement of the network was made a week before more than 130 heads of state and government will gather in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations’ sustainable development conference as part of global efforts to curb climate change, one of the biggest conferences in UN history. … The protection plan will ban oil and gas exploration in all marine national parks, including across the Coral Sea and off Margaret River, a popular tourist and wine-growing area in the southwest. Burke acknowledged the plan would also have an impact on the fishing industry. The plan attracted immediate criticism from some environmental groups, as well as independent and opposition politicians and lobby groups.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/bWcnW image source Adam Carr ow.ly/bWcnb