Biodiversity Research Still Grounded

摘要

Last week, the united states designated nearly 140,000 square miles of the pacific ocean northwest of Hawaii as the largest protected marine reserve in the world. This is good news, considering that earlier this year, 4000 delegates left the international Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (held in March 2006 in Brazil) with mixed feelings. Portrayal of the conference as successful by the Executive Secretary was in stark contrast to the frustration expressed by environmentalist groups about the failure to progress toward creating large marine protected areas. Paradoxically, the fact that the oceans are the patrimony of all nations creates a legislation gap that is the major obstacle to increasing the percent of protected ocean to the 10% targeted by the convention. This obstacle is augmented by a lack of awareness by legislators and the general public about the role, status, and prospects of biological diversity in oceans relative to the land. Until a better understanding of the diversity of and threats to life in the oceans is achieved, there will be no progress in protecting marine biodiversity.