Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumArgentina creates two new marine parks to protect penguins, sea lions
by Mongabay.com on 14 December 2018
Argentina has officially created two large marine protected areas: the Yaganes Marine National Park, lying off of the countrys southern tip, and the Namuncurá-Burdwood Bank II Marine National Park in the South Atlantic. Together, the two parks cover a total area of about 98,000 square kilometers (37,000 square miles).
By designating these two marine parks, Argentina has increased the total area of its protected ocean to about 8 percent. This puts the country closer to achieving its commitment of protecting 10 percent of its national waters by 2020 under the biodiversity targets of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Recent explorations of the areas now designated as marine parks have shown that the waters and surrounding land are home to a rich diversity of marine creatures including the South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens); king (Aptenodytes patagonicus), rockhopper (Eudyptes spp.) and Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus); South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis); several species of sharks and rays; and rare cold-water corals. Many marine species in these parks are not found anywhere else on Earth. The sea floor is also covered by mountains and canyons and giant kelp forests, the expeditions conducted by National Geographics Pristine Seas team, the government of Argentina, the government of Tierra del Fuego, and the Forum for the Conservation of the Patagonian Sea, revealed.
Argentinas new marine parks are a significant step toward the preservation of the ocean and the diversity of ocean-dependent species in the Patagonian Sea, Claudio Campagna, a marine scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which has provided support for the creation of the parks, said in a statement. These parks will permit marine wildlife to pursue their life cycles undisturbed.
More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/12/argentina-creates-two-new-marine-parks-to-protect-penguins-sea-lions/
Judi Lynn
(160,621 posts)Behold the Amazing Sea Life Argentinas New Marine Reserves Will Protect
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--hMkqZuNQ--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/q0hmxvvy8m7s4toddufu.jpg
Photo: Courtesy Tompkins Conservation
Yessenia Funes
Thursday 4:40pmFiled to: LONG LIVE OUR OCEANS
Brightly-colored sea anemones. Green-eyed shrimp. Blue starfish. All these creatures can be found in the waters of Argentinas two newly designated marine protected areas, which together span 25 million acres.
The Argentine Senate approved a law to establish the Yaganes and Namuncurá-Banco Burdwood II marine protected areas in the southern Argentine Sea on Wednesday, according to Tompkins Conservation, a conservation group working out of Chile and Argentina. This nearly accomplishes the countrys 2020 commitment to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to protect 10 percent of its seas.
This is definitely something to celebrate. More and more Latin American countries are taking steps to protect their beautiful landscapes and ecosystems. Just last week, Argentina established the Iberá National Park in the northeast. Earlier this year, Peru and Chile created major new national parks, too. And last year, Mexico showed everyone up by creating the largest marine reserve in North America at 36 million acres.
Still, all these millions of acres dont amount to much in the grand scheme of things. At least not yet. Only 2 percent of the ocean is protected so far, according to a report published earlier this year. With nearly 90 percent of the ocean degraded in some way by humans, we need to get that number up fast to help these ecosystems recover.
More:
https://earther.gizmodo.com/behold-the-amazing-sea-life-argentina-s-new-marine-rese-1831081183