ECUADOR'S CONCERN ABOUT PROJECT OF FERTILIZATION WITH IRON ORE IN WATERS ADJACENT TO THE MARINE RESERVE OF THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Integration reported that during the last few weeks an intense process of consultations has been undertaken with major national institutions involved in the control and conservation of the marine environment, with the goal of exchanging information and adopting a national position regarding the project proposed by PLANKTOS Inc., a geoengineering company, of conducting a fertilization experiment in a 10,000 km2 area located 350 miles west of the Galapagos Islands.

PLANKTOS Inc. is a US-based company which intends to dump 100 tons of iron nanoparticles from its ship R/V "Weatherbird II" into the oceanic waters of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, with the purpose of stimulating growth in the production of phytoplankton, to extract large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and minimize the impact of the greenhouse effect.

The Navy’s Oceanographic Institute (INOCAR), after analyzing PLANKTOS’ project, has stated that it lacks full scientific evaluation to hat guarantee that the impacts of iron fertilization in the sea is not harmful to the environment and to marine ecosystems, which could affect the DNA of several species and generate blooms of micro algae that would produce "red tides", some of which may be possibly toxic, with dire consequences for fisheries and the marine environment as a whole.

Likewise, during the 30th meeting of the Scientific Group of the London Convention and the 1st Meeting of the London Protocol, held in Spain in June 2007, participating scientists and experts voiced their concern for the execution of this project, as corroborated by international organizations like the International Nature Conservancy Union (IUCN), the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Greenpeace.

Based on these considerations, and taking into account the impact the experiment could have on the ecosystem of the Galapagos, due to the influence of the Cromwell Current or Equatorial Undercurrent, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with all the other competent national agencies and upon the advice of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific and IUCN, have submitted on this date a Statement rejecting the project of PLANKTOS Inc. and warning of the liability of this company and all other natural and legal persons involved, pursuant to International Law and the national legislation in effect, for all damages arising from this or any other similar experiment conducted in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean.

On the other hand, on October 10-12, 2007 member countries of the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific will participate in a Regional IMO/CPPS Seminar with the goal of adopting a regional position against reengineering initiatives of companies or countries that intend to fertilize the waters of the Southeastern Pacific with iron.

Download Statement issued by Ecuador.

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