Researchers, naturalists, explorers and broadcasters
are joining the call for oil companies to leave the Amazon Reef alone.
The latest call to protect the reef came as an open letter highlighting
the importance of this unique environment, and warning of the threat
from an oil spill nearby.
BP and Total are trying to get permission to drill for
oil near the Amazon Reef, but this group of experts called for the
companies’ plans to be put on hold, saying that “The priority should be
to protect the reef and surrounding waters in order to conduct further
research.”
This letter adds more pressure on BP and Total to cancel their plans to drill. So far, over a million people have signed the petition against oil drilling near the Amazon Reef, and more than 29,000 people have written to BP’s CEO in protest.
A fascinating puzzle
For ocean scientists, the Amazon Reef is a fascinating
puzzle, full of new discoveries and surprising twists. In just a few
days of exploring the reef, researchers believe to have found not only
three potential new fish species , but also dozens more that had not
been spotted in the area before. Scientists believe the Amazon Reef is
also home to large numbers of critically endangered fish—yet another
reason why an oil spill nearby would be devastating to the environment.
This first expedition only covered a tiny fraction of
the 600 mile-long reef, so with most of this ecosystem still unexplored,
the biggest discoveries are likely still to come.
via GIPHY
But BP and Total’s dangerous oil drilling plan could
devastate this special place before we’ve had a chance to study it
properly. There’s little evidence that the oil companies have taken the
risk of a spill seriously, and they haven’t been able to show that they
could deal with an accident in the strong currents and deep, murky
waters near the mouth of the Amazon River.
Want to help stop BP and Total? Sign the petition to protect the Amazon Reef.
Mal Chadwick is a digital campaigner for Greenpeace UK
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