LAST-MINUTE reservations from four countries, including the UK, may sink the historic announcement of a network of marine protected areas over key areas of the mid-Atlantic Ridge and basin, campaigners at WWF have warned.

The announcement was scheduled for the North-East Atlantic environment summit later this month.

The declaration, foreshadowed by the OSPAR Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic since 2008, would have been the world’s first declaration of a suite of protected sites in waters outside any national jurisdiction.

Stephan Lutter, International Marine Policy Officer with WWF-Germany and WWF’s observer to OSPAR, the Oslo Paris convention on the north east Atlantic environment, said: “The 16 Contracting Parties have been working towards a milestone achievement for several years, setting a global example to protect ocean wildlife and vulnerable habitats in international waters which is considered an unprecedented pilot by other coastal states worldwide.

“Now, the reservation by four governments is putting the big break at risk.”

Ministers representing parties to OSPAR were scheduled to consider detailed proposals at a meeting in Bergen, Norway, on 20-24 September.

Mr Lutter said: “However, now that the draft Decisions and Recommendations are on the table for adoption, a group of countries sadly withdraw their support to what could become a global push for good High Seas and ocean governance.

“Due to the reluctance of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom, the ambitious plan to deliver a first network of High Seas marine protected areas is at stake.”

WWF believes the new-found reluctance of these states to stick to their original commitments is related to them notifying extensions of their continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) to the United Nations. These seabed claims now coincide with parts of the proposed marine protected areas.

OSPAR’s 2008 agreement in principle designated large sections of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the so-called Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, as the first High Seas marine protected area. This underwater mountain range and canyon hosts a wealth of deep sea wildlife, from deep-water sharks to cold-water coral reefs and sponge formations. In the upper water layer, there is the sub-polar water front rich in plankton and fish, attracting oceanic seabirds and migrating marine mammals such as big whales.

Mr Lutter said: “Since the time of this political milestone agreement, OSPAR has made remarkable progress in terms of carving out specific conservation objectives and starting consultations about the future management of the protected area with the competent UN authorities for fisheries, seabed mining and shipping, another unique and innovative approach deserving global attention.”