Chile Moves to Triple Size of Protected Marine Area, Including Around Easter Island

摘要

Chile said it plans to triple the size of its protected marine areas, including a vast expanse around remote Easter Island, which sits more than 2,000 miles off its coast in the South Pacific. Speaking Oct. 5 at the opening of the two-day Our Oceans conference in Vina del Mar, President Michelle Bachelet announced plans to establish two new marine conservation parks and highlighted the dangers posed to the world's oceans by industrial fishing, plastic pollution and acidification. "All these dangers and threats transcend borders and require effective international collection action," she said. The plan, which would vastly expand areas where commercial fishing would be banned, calls for creation of the new Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park around the Juan Fernandez archipelago, which will cover more than 300,000 square kilometers (116,000 square miles) in addition to the 150,000 square kilometers currently under official protection.