Europe's marine sanctuaries are no more than 'paper parks'
Source: The Guardian
Europe's marine sanctuaries are no more than 'paper parks'
WWF conservationists say marine wildlife sanctuaries are failing to protect the seas
Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Wed 11 Sep 2019 11.37 BST
Last modified on Wed 11 Sep 2019 12.04 BST
Europe’s marine wildlife sanctuaries are no more than “paper parks” that are failing to protect the seas, a report from conservationists has said.
European seas, from the North East Atlantic ocean to the Adriatic, are in a “poor condition”, with coastal states failing to meet targets to protect marine wildlife, a report by WWF has concluded.
Under EU law, coastal states are obliged to create marine protected areas to protect specific species or habitats. The report found that only 1.8% of Europe’s seas are covered by marine protected areas, with management plans. “This effectively makes them paper parks,” WWF said in a statement on its report that assessed progress in the EU’s 23 coastal states.
The requirement to create marine protected areas is part of the EU’s efforts to meet international targets to ensure that 10% of the world’s oceans are protected by 2020 – a goal campaigners believe is too weak to ensure thriving seas and oceans in the long-term.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/11/europes-marine-sanctuaries-are-paper-parks