Saving The Arctic is a win-win-win!
We can’t emphasise enough how little time we have left to avoid a climate disaster. Actions are to few and to slow. Politicians lag behind.
But then there are people who don’t settle for less. People who demand real change and action. People like those in Parvati.org. This is a unique story and video interview with their staff chasing down signatures from world leaders at COP24.
You can help them succeed. Here’s how implementing their treaty could save us all by protecting the Arctic Ocean.
Parvati.org is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to a healthy planet. Their mission is to inspire new ways to relate to nature, ourselves and each other. Their first order of business is the realisation of MAPS: the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. MAPS, the largest protected area in history,
is an urgently needed, effective and cost-free step to sustain life by safeguarding the Arctic Ocean and its rapidly melting sea ice. This ice is key because it keeps our planet cool and gives us all the food, water and resources we need to survive.
By taking Arctic oil off the table for good, MAPS compels a global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energies. As countries come together in support of MAPS, our world moves from short-term individual gain to long-term collective good.
Whether representing MAPS in the global arena, creating an international treaty or showing up in a hundred tireless everyday ways, their volunteers — from the newest enthusiastic helper right up to the founder — are all motivated by their love for our world. They strongly believe that MAPS is not just their mission but also their ethos.
Parvati.org is an organisation that, thanks to its action-driven bottom-up approach, aligns with We Don’t Have Time in many ways. That’s why, when they asked for an interview with our Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer, Mårten Thorslund, we simply couldn’t refuse. And to explain the reasons for this partnership, we’d like to share with you an interview recorded during the COP24, on site in Katowice, Poland.
To understand the need for organisations such as Parvati and We Don’t Have Time please read these words from Parvati, founder and CEO of Parvati.org, herself:
“It’s not just about the Arctic — it’s about you and our world. /../ We no longer live in a time when we have the luxury to consider one area of the planet as separate from the whole. What occurs in the Arctic affects the entire world.” — Parvati, awardwinning canadian musician , activist and author and founder of Parvati.org
It’s an interview you don’t want to miss. If you’re unable to watch the full video, you can read the summary here.
They begin the interview by talking about the melting ice and rising sea levels.
“How bad is it?” Mårten asks.
“The Arctic, in general, is feeling the brunt of climate change. There is a tremendous amount of thaw happening in the Arctic Ocean, the Arctic sea ice and the Arctic sea bed — and this is being dramatically under-reported in the mainstream media”, Belanger replies.
He adds that in the last 50 years or so, we have lost around 75 per cent of the Arctic summer sea ice. Belanger emphasises the importance of this ice in keeping the planet cool. An even more problematic issue is that rather than being concerned, there are countries and companies taking advantage of the ice-free Arctic Ocean in their search for more oil, gas and deep-sea mining as well as more fishing and shipping routes: something that will only destabilise the Arctic Ocean even further. Parvati.org’s aim is therefore to do away with this kind of exploitation.
“But what is currently being done?” asks Mårten.
Ryder explains how they have drafted an international treaty called the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary treaty, which is an addendum to the UN Law of the Sea. This places the entire Arctic Ocean above the Arctic Circle off limits to all kinds of exploitation. Parvati.org has translated the treaty into all six UN languages and emailed it to all 193 member states multiple times, asking them to sign it. That was also their reason for attending COP24: to actively get more signatures from world leaders.
“Because we don’t have time; the ice is melting very quickly” adds Ryder.
Another reason why they drafted this treaty, which is outside the typical UN protocol for creating treaties, is because it usually takes a long time to achieve movement on this kind of matter — if it ever even sees the light of day within an organisation such as the United Nations.
The current treaty being negotiated under the UN is intended to protect biodiversity in the high seas. Discussions regarding the need to protect
vulnerable and threatened marine ecosystems and biodiversity in the high seas began in 2003 but formal treaty negotiations only commenced last September. In other words, if Parvati.org were to follow the typical UN protocol, our world could be waiting for decades to save the Arctic Ocean from exploitation. The world simply does not have the luxury of that kind of time.
Parvati.org’s volunteers are working at three different levels of engagement. The first is the international policy level, which is the treaty. They also work on a grassroots level, with people from all around the world volunteering as MAPS ambassadors. They work to inspire other people in their communities to put pressure on their elected leaders. But because the pace of traditional activism is not fast enough to resolve the crisis we now face, they have created an innovative global education strategy to generate the necessary international momentum for a healthy world. They are using art, technology and the power of modern media to “cool minds, lighten footprints and
inspire love” on an immediate global scale to awaken an unstoppable call for MAPS within the hearts of humanity.
Parvati.org was founded in 2014 following Parvati’s life-changing journey to the North Pole where she gave the northernmost musical performance ever to raise awareness of the melting polar ice. We suggest you listen to and watch Parvati’s video shot in the Arctic for the song ‘You Gotta Believe’ here.
It’s easy to help make a difference. Visit Parvati.org and sign the petition for MAPS. You’ll also discover ways to send letters direct to your head of government, request presentations, become a MAPS Ambassador and more when you visit their Take Action page.
Finally, you can read the interview with Mårten Thorslund for Parvati Magazine here.
Written by Alice Strand, Community Manager at We Don’t Have Time.
Proofreading by Jane Davis.
Facts about Parvati.org
Parvati-org is an all volunteer team who understands that a healthy future depends on people everywhere realizing we are interconnected.
Our first priority is protecting all life on Earth by creating the largest conservation area in history. The Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) declares the entire Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle a marine protected area. We have no political or religious affiliation and no financial interests. Our interest is humanitarian. Everyone has the right to know: a healthy world is possible, if we act now.
Facts about We Don’t Have Time
We Don’t Have Time are currently building the world’s largest social media network for climate action. Together we can solve the climate crisis.
But we are running out of time.
Join us: www.wedonthavetime.org
