January 27, 2020
In the year of the bicentenary of the discovery of Antarctica, action must be taken to strengthen the protection of the Southern Ocean.
To commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by Russian explorer Admiral Bellingshausen, Lewis Pugh, UN Patron of the Oceans, Ambassador Antarctica 2020 and endurance swimmer, has just completed a swim in an ice-bound river under the East Antarctica ice sheet and is now on his way to Moscow to draw attention to the need to protect the Southern Ocean .
Mr. Pugh, who has pushed the limits and sailed every ocean in the world, described his recent voyage on Jan. 23 as one of the hardest voyages of his life due to freezing water and very strong, low winds.
“East Antarctica is vast and beautiful, but everywhere we looked there was meltwater. Everywhere in the world, coral reefs are dying and wildfires are raging. Addressing this climate emergency is the defining challenge of our generation. This dangerous voyage was absolutely necessary to show that 2020 must be a year of action ,” said Lewis Pugh.
Accompanying Lewis Pugh on his Antarctic expedition are other 2020 Antarctic champions Vyacheslav Fetisov, the great Russian hockey player and UN Polar Goodwill Ambassador, and José María Figueres, former president of Costa Rica. Lewis Pugh and Vyacheslav Fetisov are currently in Moscow meeting with Russian officials and the French Ambassador to Russia to discuss the need to raise the issue of conservation of the Antarctic marine environment in international forums. France is one of the participants in the proposal to establish a large-scale marine protected area in East Antarctica, and President Macron strongly supports this work. Russia is playing a key role in the adoption of this proposal this year – part of a global effort to protect one of the most remote areas on Earth.
Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Fetisov: “As the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Polar Regions, it is terrible for me to watch our poles disappear before our eyes. The melting Antarctica that we have just visited is very different from the one that Bellingshausen and Lazarev first saw on this day two hundred years ago. Russia spearheading the preservation of this last pristine region is the best way to honor the Russian legacy of Antarctica.”
At the forefront of climate change and biodiversity loss crises, Antarctica is one of the fastest warming places on earth, threatening its unique and vulnerable wildlife. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called for the creation of marine protected areas to increase ocean resilience to climate change. Protecting the Southern Ocean will help iconic species such as penguins, whales and fish populations adapt to the changing climate.
Jose Maria Figueres: “Our trip to Antarctica has just confirmed that there is no more time to waste. Just as sixty years ago, when governments came together to make Antarctica a place of peace, science and cooperation, we must come together to put its seas on the path to recovery. Russian leadership supporting the continued protection of the Southern Ocean in 2020 will be critical.”
An international meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Bioresources will meet in October to negotiate the organization of marine conservation measures in East Antarctica, as well as the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctica 2020
Antarctica 2020 is a group of influential people from the worlds of sports, politics, business, media and science who are supporting the protection of more than seven million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean by 2020 through the creation of a large-scale network of marine protected areas in the region. The group was created in 2018.
Antarctica 2020 calls for high-level leadership, multi-stakeholder cooperation and sustained diplomatic efforts to ensure action is taken to protect the Southern Ocean, Earth’s greatest remaining wilderness. Preserving Antarctica’s precious marine life will build global resilience to the effects of climate change and protect an ecological heritage that will benefit humanity for generations.
See www.antarctica2020.org for more information
Members of Antarctica 2020
- Sylvia Earl – Researcher; Founder, Mission Blue
- Vyacheslav Fetisov – Deputy of the State Duma of Russia, UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Polar Regions, professional hockey player.
- José María Figueres – former president of Costa Rica, founder of Ocean Unite and Antarctica2020
Amaro Gomez – journalist - Robert Hill – Former Australian Minister for the Environment (1996-2001), Former Australian Minister for Defense (2001-2006)
- Geneviève Pons – Former Director of EU WWF, Director of the Jacques Delors Institute, Brussels
- Lewis Pugh – Endurance swimmer and UN Patron of the Oceans
- Pascal Lamy – Former Director General of the World Trade Organization (2005-2013), President of the Paris Peace Forum
