On Marine Protected
Areas, Montreal-Based CBD
UNaware of Criticism of St
Laurence Area
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
June 5 – When the Montreal-based
Executive Secretary of the
Convention on Biological
Diversity Cristiana Pasca
Palmer held a press conference
at the UN on June 5 about
Marine Protected Areas, Inner
City Press as the only media
to ask a question raised
criticism about Canada's
proposed Laurentian Channel
Marine Protected Area. It was
shrunken to avoid key fishing
grounds, it allowed oil and
gas exploration. But Palmer,
and the first expert they
referred to, weren't aware of
it. Another more voluable
responder from the back of the
room said maybe oil and gas
exploration weren't bad, or
the purpose of the Marine
Protected Area. Apparently
not. But shouldn't UN agencies
be aware of such controversies
in their host countries? As
the Ocean Conference started
at the UN there were corporate
exhibits including a large one
by Suez Environmental, a firm
much protested for its role in
water privatization. Inner
City Press asked the UN
Department of Public
Information, which is
sponsoring press conference
complete with corporate
moderators asking softball
questions to supermarket
chains, who in the UN is
vetting these corporate
commitments. You'll have to
wait until the end of the
week, was the answer. But the
corporations are already
getting blue washed in the UN
website and hallways, just as
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres reflexively offered
praise to Citigroup last week,
while his Global Compact
covered up for a company
exploiting the natural
resources of Western Sahara.
Meanwhile another topic Inner
City Press started asking
about last week, fisheries
subsidies, will not be acted
on in the Ocean Conference but
rather, if at all, in the
World Trade Organization at
the end of the year. We'll
have more on this.
***
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