The Northwest Passage Was Never Meant For This

The Northwest Passage Was Never Meant For This

The peaceful Arctic waters known as the Northwest Passage, already under stress due to the loss of sea ice, are facing a new threat. Many nations and international shipping companies seek to profit from an ice-free Arctic Ocean by using it as a shortcut between Asia and Europe. The Arctic Ocean is a crucial and vulnerable ecosystem and exploiting it in this way is catastrophically short-sighted. The Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) must be declared immediately to protect this sensitive region.

Several jurisdictions have expressed interest in using the Northwest Passage for shipping, and the US-owned Crystal Cruises will make its inaugural voyage through the Northwest Passage with 1600 people this August. Commercial shipping and cruising pose serious environmental risks which are reason enough on their own to keep this activity out of the Arctic. Large ships typically burn heavy fuel oil, one of the world’s dirtiest and most polluting fuels, which produces exhaust that is is high in sulfur and particulate matter. The exhaust contributes to global warming, not only because of the release of massive volumes of CO2, but also because its particulate matter settles on the Arctic ice sheets, darkening them, and causes them to absorb, rather than reflect, the sun’s radiation. This results in even more rapid ice melt.

If spilled, heavy fuel oil is impossible to clean up, because it sticks to anything it touches. The Northwest Passage is home to whales, seals, polar bears and several bird species which form part of a unique and diverse ecosystem that deserves our concerted protection. Commercial shipping and cruising result in sonic and atmospheric pollution and increased potential for fuel and oil leaks. All of these risks are well documented in the documentary film Seablind.

If all this weren’t reason enough to keep these big ships out of the Arctic, consider that much of the Northwest Passage is out of range of Canada’s Coast Guard helicopters, and that sending a cruise ship through the Arctic puts human life at risk if the ship were to capsize or sink.

There is no appropriate plan or scenario for the economic exploitation of the Arctic. The only sane course of action is one that honours our interconnection with all aspects of life on the planet and sees the Arctic for what it is – a planetary life support system and a global temperature regulator. We must refuse to perpetuate the cycles of consumption that have brought us to this precipice.

The only viable plan for the Arctic Ocean is to declare the entire region above the Arctic Circle a Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS). This international marine conservation area will be completely off-limits to all commercialization, industrialization, and militarization.

In late 2015, Parvati Foundation created the international Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) Treaty, translated into the six official UN languages, and distributed to the heads of government of 193 member nations of the UN for their formal endorsement. The organization is in ongoing dialogue with world governments considering the Treaty.

Parvati Foundation founder and CEO, Toronto-based musician and yogini Parvati Devi, says, “Having travelled to the beautiful Canadian Arctic, and being a lifelong activist for environmental wisdom and interconnection, I feel a deep and undeniable personal connection with the Arctic ecosystem. Yet MAPS goes far beyond any personal sentiment. Just as pollution from the south affects life in the Arctic, what happens in the Arctic affects the entire planet. Everyone has a stake.”

After her trip to the Arctic to raise awareness of the melting polar ice, Parvati became the most northern musical performer ever. She dedicates her public presence to raising the awareness of our inherent interconnection. “The health of the Arctic Ocean affects the climate of the entire planet,” says Parvati. “All lives on earth depend on healthy polar ice caps, which are rapidly melting.”

Parvati Foundation is asking the public to sign its petition calling for the declaration of the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. The opportunity, and the urgency, are unparalleled.

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