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Documents

Greenpeace publishes reports and studies on the issues we are working on and the solutions we are pushing towards.

You can download most of them here in Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format), and download free software for reading these documents here.

Recent Reports

The Ecosystem Approach - protecting marine life in all its forms

21 May 2008

The world's oceans, once thought to contain inexhaustible resources, are under increasing threat. In recent years, scientific study after scientific study has pointed to the fact that human activities and fishing in particular have been putting extreme pressure on marine ecosystems to the point that profound ecosystem changes are being experienced in many parts of the world. The ecosystem approach is vital if we are to ensure the health of our oceans for future generations.

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Closing Time For Overfishing - Creating Pacific High Seas Marine Reserves

21 May 2008

Three distinct high seas areas exist within the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO), entirely bound by the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of surrounding island nations. These high seas enclaves, colloquially known as “donut holes” or “high seas pockets” have significant biological and ecological importance and face a number of threats, including overfishing and the potential extraction of seabed minerals in the future. Greenpeace is advocating that these areas be designated as fully-protected marine reserves.

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Suggested Draft High Seas Implementing Agreement for the Conservation and Management of the Marine Environment

21 April 2008

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is now 25 years old. The time has come to consider the establishment of a new implementing agreement under UNCLOS. Such an implementing agreement would be comprehensive and legally binding, and build upon the existing provisions of UNCLOS, providing a clear mandate to protect biodiversity on the high seas, based on the precautionary principle and ecosystem-based management for the next 25 years and beyond. The elements of this text provide a model implementing agreement for the conservation and management articles of UNCLOS with respect to biodiversity on the high seas.

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Black Holes in Deep Oceans Space: Closing the Legal Voids in High Seas Biodiversity Protection

01 March 2008

The challenges facing our oceans in the 21st Century require that the primacy of the concept of “Freedom for the Seas” (Libertas Mari) be restored. The international community must act now on its commitments to protect the marine environment, so that future generations have the freedom to enjoy the benefits of this last remaining global commons sustainably and equitably."Black Holes in Deep Oceans Space: Closing the legal voids in high seas biodiversity protection" addresses current gaps in international oceans governance.

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Freedom for the Seas: Now and for the Future

01 March 2008

It is clearer today than ever before that the threats to ocean life are growing and beyond the capacity of any one nation to address alone. While in the past, we primarily spoke of overfishing or destructive fishing and their impacts on ocean life, today, climate change and its impacts on marine life must also loom large in the minds of oceans decision makers. "Freedom for the Seas: Now and for the Future" provides Greenpeace proposals on revolutionizing oceans governance.

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Proposed map of marine reserves. Enlarge Image

Map of proposed global network of marine reserves

16 October 2007

A map of our proposed global network of marine reserves.

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A Swedish cod trawler in a proposed marine reserve. Enlarge Image

Roadmap to recovery: a global network of marine reserves

16 October 2007

In this report we present a design for a global network of high seas marine reserves. Marine reserves are highly protected areas that are off limits to all extractive and destructive uses, including fishing. They are the most powerful tool available for the conservation of ocean wildlife and may also benefit fisheries by promoting recovery and reproduction of exploited species.

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Deep-water fishing: time to stop the destruction

01 May 2005

Deep sea bottom trawling uses large, heavy gear that is designed to drag, across the sea bed, causing massive collateral damage. Habitats, such as ancient corals, some of them thousands of years old, which provide shelter for hundreds of other unique species, are also destroyed by these fishing activities. Overall, they catch tens of thousands of tonnes of species along with those being targeted, which are then dumped dead or dying back into the sea. Because of the slow growth of many of these deep sea fish (which may be older than your great-grandmother when you eat them), and because good breeding years may only occur once every decade or less, it will take centuries for nature to repair the damage already done.

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Bottom Trawling Factsheet

18 October 2004

Deep sea life is being destroyed by sea bottom trawling before scientists can unravel the mysteries of the deep. There is unprecedented concern about the destruction of our deep seas. More than 1000 eminent marine scientists from 60 countries have signed a public statement calling for a moratorium on bottom trawling in international waters.

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Oceans Factsheet - Moratorium on Bottom Trawling

18 October 2004

Greenpeace believes that the United Nations must act now by taking, effective actions to ensure the long-term viability of vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. The first of those actions must be to pass a Resolution declaring an immediate moratorium on High Seas bottom trawling.

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