![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Azores-Portugal-coastline-by-Raphael-Lopes-for-unsplash-APlP0zFcOyw-1024x550.jpg\")
Azores, Portugal by Raphael Lopes \/ Unsplash+<\/p>\n Azores, Portugal by Raphael Lopes \/ Unsplash+<\/p>\n
Governments and conservation NGOs celebrated the passing of a resolution to create the world\u2019s most ambitious marine sanctuary.<\/p>\n
Cleverly-named \u201cMacronesia,\u201d the area in the northeastern Atlantic would protect 32 species of whales and dolphins, making it one of the most significant migratory routes on Earth.<\/p>\n
The announcement followed a resolution made at the International Union for Conservation of Nature\u2019s (IUCN) World Conservation Congress which took place last month. IUCN is the world\u2019s leading international agency for the purposes of conservation\u2014a sort of NATO or UN for protecting species and landscapes.<\/p>\n
The resolution passed with 96.5% of all possible votes, establishing the framework for the Macaronesia Sanctuary, consisting of the waters surrounding the Azores, Cape Verde, the Canary Islands, and Madeira, in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n
The concept of Macronesia and the subsequent resolution to establish it was spearheaded by a Canarian conservation NGO called Loro Parque Fundaci\u00f3n. Founded by a German biologist, Loro Parque Fundaci\u00f3n has undertaken conservation projects all around the world, saving 18 species from extinction over the course of 3 decades.<\/p>\n
But founder Wolfgang Kiessling never took his eyes off the most substantial inspiration\u2014the concept of a Macronesia Sanctuary, which he shared with renowned German marine biologist, Petra Deimar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Macaronesia Sanctuary represents a shared aspiration between science, institutions, and society,\u201d said Kiessling in a statement<\/a>. \u201cIts approval by the IUCN demonstrates that international cooperation remains the most powerful tool we have to safeguard ocean biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n MARINE PROTECTED AREA: \u2018Huge Environmental Win\u2019: Australia to Protect 52% of its Oceans, More Than Any Other Country<\/a><\/p>\n The sanctuary aims to protect whales from a variety of anthropogenic harms, including entanglement from fishing gear, ship strikes, underwater noise pollution, and deep-sea mining.<\/p>\n 84% of all species of dolphins and whales in the Atlantic pass through Macronesia, making it as significant a site worthy of protection as could be found anywhere in the ocean.<\/p>\n WHALES RECEIVING PROTECTION: Dominica Creates World\u2019s First Sperm Whale Reserve\u2013for the 200 That Call the Island Home<\/a><\/p>\n