Good news! Marine sanctuaries gaining traction

View Photo Gallery — Australia’s Coral Sea to become a protected marine reserve: Australia’s government is poised to announce the creation of the world’s largest network of marine reserves. Here is a look at wildlife in the Coral Sea, an area that will rank as the world’s second-largest fully protected marine reserve.

Marine reserves in Australia, California gather steam

By Juliet Eilperin, WashPost, Wednesday, June 13, 4:23 PM

The Australian government will announce Thursday that it is creating the world’s largest network of marine reserves, a patchwork of protected areas covering more than 1.1 million square miles of ocean.

The move, which comes on the heels of California’s vote last week to create the largest marine reserve network in the United States, signals a growing movement to put some of the sea’s most ecologically valuable areas off limits before they are damaged beyond repair. But they also reflect the political and economic pressures elected leaders face as they balance conservation with activities such as fishing and oil drilling.

The Australian plan, for example, angered commercial fishing interests there while disappointing some environmentalists by falling short of the protections they envisioned. In California, the just-finalized network of state underwater parks drew complaints from a Native American tribe that said new restrictions could infringe on their long-held harvesting rights.

Australia timed its announcement to coincide with the run-up to the Rio+20 Earth Summit, a global gathering next week where leaders from more than 130 nations will meet to discuss how to ensure economic development while protecting key parts of the environment, including the ocean. Government officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

(More here.)