The motion filed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature recommends the suspension of the ‘exploitation of natural resources’ in the disputed sea

MANILA, Philippines – A motion to create a “marine peace park” in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) has been filed with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Antonio Claparols, president of the Ecological Society of the Philippines, confirmed this to Rappler on Wednesday, September 7. His group was among those who co-sponsored the motion, filed Monday, September 5, during the ongoing IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

The motion was filed by Joseph Moravec of the Center for Environmental Legal Studies in New York with 11 co-sponsors, including the Ecological Society of the Philippines, and the Sierra Club.

“It is one of 6 [motions] that will be opened in the plenary…It is an emergency motion,” Claparols said in an email message.

Entitled “Conservation in the South China Sea,” the motion recommends that “all States and authorities in this region suspend exploitation of natural resources, prospecting, or other activities, pending the study of how to establish marine protected areas in the South China Sea and Coral Triangle.”

It also called on institutes like the World Commission on Environmental Law and World Commission on Protected Areas to “study the prospects for establishing extensive marine protected areas in the South China Sea.”

If accepted for deliberation, the motion is set to be taken up by IUCN member organizations on Friday, September 9.

http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/environment/145465-west-philippine-sea-marine-peace-park-iucn