Submitted Ideas

The Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS)

The Arctic Ocean is unraveling. There is 75% ice cover now than 50 years ago. As the ice melts, the planet heats up, weather patterns become unstable and sea levels rise - leading to wide-scale suffering and death due to storms, floods, famines, disease and loss of homes. Not only is the Arctic Ocean home to fragile and unique flora and fauna, it is also the air conditioner of our planet. Yet rather than seeing the loss of the polar ocean ice and the heating of the Arctic Ocean as the global catastrophe that it is, countries and companies are poised to take advantage of the ice-free ocean for profit. Offshore oil and gas, international shipping, deep sea mining, etc. are all planned for the Arctic Ocean. These risky human activities stand to harm the local region but also further destabilize global ocean health and climate.

A gift to all life on Earth, the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) is a marine protected area that addresses this issue simply and effectively by stopping all exploitation in the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle, compelling a global shift to renewable energy and placing our collective long-term good over short-term gain for a few. MAPS has been endorsed by Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Sylvia Earle, and Sally Ranney (among many others at www.signmaps.org).

The MAPS movement is being spearheaded by an all-volunteer team at Parvati.org. To meet our necessary goal of realizing MAPS now, we have drafted the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary Treaty as an addendum to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We’ve translated it into the six official UN languages, provided it to all 193 UN member states, and shared it with officials at COP21, COP22, and COP23. With the signature of 99 countries, the treaty takes effect, making all ocean waters north of the Arctic Circle an international peace park, free from exploitation, commercialization, and military activity.

By taking all Arctic seabed petroleum resources off the table for good, MAPS accelerates the world’s pivot to renewable energy. It brings world leaders together to affirm the collective long-term good over short-term individual gain. At the same time, it ensures that the critically vulnerable Arctic ecosystem, and its ice, can regenerate and continue to protect global weather patterns, ocean currents and ocean health, and food and water supplies.

The Prime Minister of Samoa, His Excellency Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, has become the first country to sign the MAPS Treaty. “Samoa is pleased to support the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary Treaty,” he says. “Small island states like Samoa which are on the frontlines of impacts of climate change see MAPS as a realizable solution to addressing pivotal climate change issues.”

Parvati.org is rolling out an unprecedented global education strategy to compliment our work at the international policy level. The plan is based on three key tactics: Penetrate, Permeate and Pervade. It is the heartbeat of our MAPS strategy. Our rollout capitalizes on an exceptionally diverse yet cross-pollinating product offerings in music, yoga, and words to connect with the world’s ever growing ecological awareness in a wide range of sectors and demographics. The goal is to quickly bring MAPS to top of mind for billions globally and spark, convert and activate mass public demand that puts pressure on our world leaders to realize MAPS immediately.

We need your help. We have a lot of momentum but we can't do this alone. For the good of every living thing on this planet MAPS must be realized very soon before exploitative interests can become entrenched in the Arctic Ocean. The ice keeps melting and MAPS is a profoundly hopeful and simple solution to stabilizing our world.

In gratitude,
Darcy