Title:
Protected Areas in the High Seas
Author: Mrs. Maxine McCloskey
Seconded by Dr. P. Sivadas
E-mail resolution sponsors now!

WHEREAS,

The oceans and seas cover some 70 percent of this planet;

Coastal nations have established a number of marine protected areas within their waters of national jurisdiction, the world community of nations has yet to establish an international system of protected areas on the high seas;

There is no international agency with clear authority to establish, manage, monitor, and enforce such a system on the high seas;

There are many values in the high seas that justify protection;

There are significant threats to the biological and physical features of the high seas;

Little is known about the features and systems of the high seas;

The 4^th and 5^th World Wilderness Congresses adopted resolutions emphasizing the need for protected areas in marine waters, and accepting the idea that wilderness is an appropriate designation in the marine environment;

The IUCN (World Conservation Union) supports protected areas on the high seas including wilderness;

The Carlsberg Ridge between the Arabian and Somali basin has great influence on monsoons and the climate but little research has been done on Carlsberg Ridge;

The 6^th World Wilderness Congress hereby resolves that:

• a study of the legal status of the high seas and the various existing international agencies that may bear on the high seas should be commenced as soon as possible;
• an ambitious and coordinated research program must be instituted that will reveal the enormous biodiversity, geographic and thermal features, chemical and physical functions of the high seas;
• a thorough research program should be conducted on the Carlsberg Ridge;
• an international system of protected areas on the high seas, including wilderness designation, should be established by the appropriate international agency.

Sponsored by:

Mrs. Maxine McCloskey
Seconded by Dr. P. Sivadas
Whale Centre-IUCN
5101, Westbard Avenue
Bethesda, Maryland 20816 USA
Tel: +1-301-229-4967
Fax: +1-301-229-2923
E-mail: Mmclos336@aol.com