Commitment Declared to be Co-sponsor of Proposals to Establish Marine Protected Areas in East Antarctica and Weddell Sea at Ministerial Meeting on CCAMLR MPA

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea (MOF) expressed its commitment to establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Antarctic region, joining the efforts of other 19 like-minded Member states of Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) including the EU, the US, France and Spain at the Ministerial meeting on CCAMLR MPAs held online on Wednesday 29 September.

Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok of the MOF, upon a special invitation from EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Mr. Virginius Sinkevicius, attended the event, which was hosted by the EU to give further momentum to adoption of two proposals it has co-sponsored for establishment of MPAs in the East Antarctica and Weddell Sea at the 40th annual meeting of the Commission (CCAMLR-40) from 18 to 29 October this year.

Emphasizing in his speech the importance of having extended MPAs in place to address the climate change as well as to protect the marine ecosystems under the Antarctic waters, Minister MOON declared that the Republic of Korea would get on board the two MPA proposals, making it the only East Asian nation that puts its name under the co-sponsor lists.

Since April this year, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been planning its medium and long-term strategy for MPA establishment in the Antarctic region in consultation with related agencies, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders through having a seminar three times and has taken into account their views and thoughts in considering its future policies on MPAs in the Southern Ocean.

The seminar reached a consensus on the necessity for the Republic of Korea to co-sponsor the MPA proposals on the East Antarctica and Weddell Sea as part of its efforts to lead the global commitment to making the Antarctic environments sustainable and the ecosystems protected.

This co-sponsoring for the proposed MPAs will provide the country with a chance to increase its contributions to expanding MPAs in the CCAMLR Convention Area, which accounts for approximately 10% of the entire oceans in the world, and thus promote itself to a leading country in global marine environment protection.

Minister MOON stressed that “as environmental conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources now always go hand in hand, our policies should be in line with this irresistible global trend”, adding that “mindful of the commitment we reconfirmed at the meeting, we will continue to strengthen our close cooperation with other states on the climate change and environmental protection issues.”