Commercial vessels
bring stressors & risks
to an undisturbed ecosystem.

As the floating ice-reef recedes and creates a newly accessible ocean, the biodiversity within the Central Arctic Ocean, already challenged by stressors resulting from greenhouse gases, now faces the introduction of direct stressors from surface vessel activity.

The most biologically active layer of these waters is warming and acidifying faster than anywhere on Earth due to greenhouse gas emissions – and these environmental threats to species are intensifying due to the Arctic Amplification Effect.

The direct stressors posed by the vessels involved in commercial fishing, international shipping and hydrocarbon extraction put at heightened risk the function of the Arctic Ocean’s ecosystem services.

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Proposed solution:
Protect this global commons
for global public benefit

The 90 North Foundation’s proposed solution is to establish a Marine Protected Area, potentially with Fully Protected status, for the international waters of the Central Arctic Ocean, through an international legal instrument by 2037 – the North Pole Marine Reserve (aka Central Arctic Ocean Marine Reserve).

As a Marine Protected Area covering 2.8 million sq km around the North Pole, it would be the world’s most iconic and largest wildlife reserve – with ‘Fully Protected’ MPA status providing the highest level of protection for biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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