Marine National Park Bigger Than Texas Created by Departing Chilean President Around Pacific Islands | Impact That Lasts

Marine National Park Bigger Than Texas Created by Departing Chilean President Around Pacific Islands | Impact That Lasts

Why this story matters: This piece serves as a constructive counterpoint to the prevailing sense of pessimism, offering readers a well-reasoned and evidence-based cause for optimism in a time when hope can feel hard to come by. Quick summary: This story highlights recent developments related to islands, showing how constructive action can lead to meaningful results. A fisherman holding two Juan Fernandez spiny lobsters – CC 3.0. Serpantus (wikicommons) Just days before he left office, former Chilean President Gabriel Boric signed into law protections for the remote Juan Fernández Archipelago and a gargantuan swath of the surrounding sea. The protections connect the archipelago with the existing Nazca-Desventuradas marine parks, and total 386,000 square miles, an area the size of Venezuela amounting to 50% of Chile’s territorial waters. This huge marine protected area, home to whales, dolphins, turtles, spiny lobsters, octopus, a vast underwater mountain chain, sea turtles, numerous sea bir…