India extends support for protecting the Antarctic environment

India has extended support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for co-sponsoring the proposal of the European Union for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
This is the first time India is considering co-sponsoring an MPA proposal at the CCAMLR and getting aligned with countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources(CCAMLR)

CCAMLR is an international treaty to manage Antarctic fisheries to preserve species diversity and stability of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem.
CCAMLR came into force in April 1982.
Headquarters: Hobart, Australia
India has been a permanent member of the CCAMLR since 1986.
Work pertaining to the CCAMLR is coordinated in India by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through its attached office, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi, Kerala.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA)

Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries.
MPA provides protection for all or part of its natural resources.
MPAs can be conserved for a number of reasons including economic resources, biodiversity conservation, and species protection.
Since 2009, CCAMLR members have developed proposals for MPAs for various regions of the Southern Ocean.
There are 129 MPAs in India.