ban fishing, MAPS

Ban Fishing? A Great Start. Now Declare MAPS.

Ten countries recently came together to sign an agreement banning commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean for sixteen years. This is great news. But there are even bigger threats to the vulnerable Arctic ecosystem that we need to address immediately.

The Arctic polar ice, which regulates temperatures and weather patterns for the entire planet, is in what scientists now call a “death spiral”. There is 75% less late-summer ice now than there was half a century ago. Parts of the Arctic Ocean are 4C warmer than usual. Yet, in the face of this crisis, some interests seek only to exploit the vanishing ice and accelerate the destruction by seeking oil or other natural resources in the previously inaccessible seabed. This must be stopped – immediately and forever. What happens in the Arctic affects us all.

Banning all commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean has always been included in MAPS (the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary). But MAPS goes much further, to ensure the protection we need. It is a life-saving, game-changing initiative to stop all activity in the Arctic Ocean that harms the melting polar ice. At the same time, it compels an immediate global pivot to renewable energies, and a paradigm shift from short-term greed to long-term good. This profoundly simple yet effective solution to so many problems facing our world must be implemented now, before time and ice run out.

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.

Many leading scientists now call for half the earth to become protected areas. 15,000 scientists recently signed an urgent warning to the world that we must change our ways to prevent global catastrophe. As Dr. Earle says, “MAPS is an idea whose time has come.”

To support the speedy realization of MAPS, the Canadian not-for-profit Parvati.org took the unprecedented step of creating the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary Treaty as an addendum to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This fully legal and binding document has been translated into all official UN languages, provided to all 193 UN member states, and shared with officials at COP21, COP22, COP23 and UNGA 72. It enters into force with the signatures of 99 nations.

“The international agreement to stop fishing in the Arctic Ocean shows that world leaders are willing to come together for the sake of the collective good,” says Parvati.org founder, the musician, activist, yogini and author Parvati. “MAPS is the logical next step. I call on all nations involved in this agreement to sign the MAPS Treaty now.”

Everyone can make a difference for MAPS by signing and sharing the MAPS petition at Parvati.org, and calling on their governments to ratify the MAPS Treaty immediately.

Parvati.orgParvati.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.