PERMANENT COMMISSION OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC RECEIVES CONCERNS FROM ECUADOR ON FERTILIZATION PROJECT IN THE WATERS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN PACIFIC USING IRON

In the framework of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific, Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Areas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Integration reported that the "OMI/CPPS Regional Seminar on the London Protocol and Meeting to agree on a regional position on the Fertilization of the Waters of the Southeastern Pacific with Iron" occurred in Guayaquil from the 10th to the 12th of October.

The meeting to formalize a regional position on the fertilization of Southeastern Pacific waters took place in response to the concerns of the Ecuadorian Government on the project proposed by the geoengineering company "PLANKTOS Inc." to carry out a fertilization experiment in an area 10,000 km2, located 350 miles to the west of the Galapagos Islands. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment announced the national position on the initiative in a press conference that occurred on October 3rd, 2007.

Due to this, "the expert delegates" from Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Panama carried out an exhaustive analysis of the legal and environmental implications that would be entailed by the fertilization project to sequester carbon dioxide and created a project of joint declaration that will be presented a the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Areas of the South Pacific and the Sixth General Assembly of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific, which will meet in Guayaquil between the 27th and 30th of November, 2007.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Integration declared its satisfaction with the results that were achieved at the meeting of CPPS and the Action Plan in that the expressed concern from the national government in the face of the Planktos Inc. project was well received by the participating States and alerted them on the inappropriateness of carrying out any activity relating to the dumping of iron that cannot be scientifically verified, due to the serious consequences on the marine ecosystem of the South Pacific. The Ecuadorian Ministry hopes that the General Authority of the Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Costal Areas of the South Pacific and the Sixth General Assembly of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific ratify the recommendations of the meeting in Guayaquil.

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