With big hearts and inspired dedication, Parvati.org’s all-volunteer staff has made great strides to move MAPS (the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary) forward at COP23, the UN conference on climate change. Our Director of Strategic Initiatives Darcy Belanger and our Outreach Lead Dr. Karen Ho travelled to Bonn, Germany for COP23 on their own time to advance MAPS among the world’s leaders. They have willingly self-funded and crowd-funded all their expenses. Back in Canada, the research, legal, production and communication teams have worked around the clock to ensure Darcy and Karen had what they needed to get the word out about MAPS. The broad-heartedness of these volunteers and those who gave their time or money to support the work is a testament to the way MAPS brings us together, knowing that we are all interconnected.
Karen’s tireless outreach work in the leadup to the UN General Assembly in September paid dividends in November, helping her connect directly with many officials at COP23 who are now interested in MAPS.
Darcy’s presentation on MAPS to representatives from SIDS (Small Island Developing States) was warmly received. What happens in the Arctic affects us all, including the small island states. These nations face significant threat in a changing climate. As the polar ice disappears, we lose its cooling and stabilizing effect on the weather of the planet. All life is placed at risk from rising temperatures, rising sea level and increased natural disasters, such as flood, fire and drought. MAPS is an urgent necessity.
The momentum is building for MAPS. Several countries have expressed interest in signing the MAPS Treaty. MAPS, the largest marine protected area in history, enters into force when 99 countries sign the Treaty.
“Many nations now understand that the polar ice is not going to wait for bureaucracy,” says Parvati.org founder Parvati Devi. “Our situation is urgent and all life on Earth is at risk. There is no more time for anything but bold and decisive action to protect our planet. We need the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary now.”
Luminaries such as Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Louie Psihoyos, Peter Neill, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez and Julia Butterfly Hill have endorsed the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary, which declares the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle an international peace park, free from exploitation of all kinds, in perpetuity. It stops all activity in the Arctic Ocean that harms the melting polar ice, and ensures the regeneration of this essential ecosystem, while catalyzing the global shift to renewable energy. It is an effective and immediate solution to the unprecedented threat facing our entire world.
Parvati.org created the international MAPS Treaty to prevent this key and vulnerable region from becoming exploited and exacerbating extreme weather, food shortages, flooding and other issues around the world. The MAPS Treaty has been translated into all official UN languages, provided to all 193 UN member states, and shared with officials at COP21, COP22, UNGA 72 and COP23.
We urge you to sign and share the MAPS petition at https://parvati.org, and to call on your government to ratify the MAPS Treaty immediately.
Citizens of all nations are urged to sign and share the MAPS petition at Parvati.org, and to call on their governments to ratify the MAPS Treaty immediately.
Parvati.org is a not-for-profit dedicated to a healthy world. Its first order
of business is the realization of MAPS: the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary,
an effective step to cool our planet and keep our oceans alive.