The incredibly rich sea surrounding the underwater mountain ranges off the coast of Chile could become, under the impetus of the South American country and in the event of a favorable vote at the UN, into one of the first sanctuaries of biodiversity. in international waters.
The United Nations are meeting from Monday in New York to try to reach a crucial agreement for the oceans allowing in particular the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs) beyond the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the States, i.e. 200 nautical miles from the coast (370 km).
This vast area of ??high seas has long been ignored despite representing 60% of the oceans and harboring great biodiversity. Protecting these waters, which cover almost half the planet, is crucial for the health of the entire ocean and critical to limiting global warming.
Currently, only 1% of these waters are protected.
For Chile, with its more than 6,400 km of coastline and where environmental protection is a strong political theme, the issue is sensitive.
The country has already created 42 marine protected areas in its waters corresponding to an area of ??150 million hectares, or 43% of its EEZ, according to the Chilean Ministry of the Environment.
This ministry had however judged in 2021 that “it is not enough”, and announced “efforts to create a marine protected area on the high seas”, in the Eastern Pacific, “as a priority measure to deal with the crisis. climatic”.
This area would emerge around the Nazca and Salas y Gomez ridges, two underwater mountain ranges of volcanic origin located mostly in international waters, off Chile and Peru.
With treasures of biodiversity and endemic species, these ridges which stretch over some 2,900 km, perpendicular to the Chilean coast, are among the ten sites selected by the UN as priorities for conservation in the waters under its jurisdiction. from any country.
Due to its isolation, this area has a “unique biodiversity which is marked by one of the highest levels of marine endemism on Earth”, assures a study published in 2021 in the reference journal Marine Policy.
The two ridges serve as a refuge for a great diversity of resident and migratory species: sponges, corals, turtles, starfish and a myriad of fish, molluscs and other crustaceans. Blue whales and leatherback turtles, which are threatened, return to these waters every year to breed and feed.
“Every time we go to this area and take samples, we find new species,” said Javier Sellanes, from the Center for Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic Islands at the Catholic University of North.
“Protecting this unique diversity on the planet is of the utmost importance”, he believes, comparing the two ridges “to a kind of oasis in the middle of a marine desert”.
A marine area in this place would make it possible to “connect” those created by Chile in its waters, including that surrounding the famous Easter Island, further pleads the South American country.
Peru has also protected in 2021 part of this area located in its waters.
“Chile has developed and implemented a scientific work plan, which adds to the already solid scientific knowledge explaining why this area is important for biodiversity”, underlines with AFP Liz Karan of the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts, considering the country “absolutely up to the task”.
According to the draft treaty under discussion at the UN, a country, acting alone or with others, can request the protection of an area of ??the high seas, a decision then submitted to a vote of the United Nations. However, it does not specify how to concretely ensure the implementation of protective measures in these vast isolated areas. Some experts rely on satellites.
According to the Marine Policy study, the most effective strategies for protecting the high seas off Chile include limiting fishing activities and banning mining, “still at a low level”…
02/19/2023 07:59:37 – Santiago du Chili (AFP) – © 2023 AFP