site.btaEnvironmentalists Protest in Sofia, Urge Government to Ratify UN Global Ocean Treaty

A large pink inflatable octopus was placed in front of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday morning. With it Greenpeace Bulgaria called on the Government to ratify the UN Global Ocean Treaty. "Protect the oceans, Mr [Prime Minister Rosen] Zhelyazkov" and "Bulgaria Stands for Oceans Protection".

"The octopus is one of the ocean creatures through which we want to show that the ocean is not as far from us as we imagine," Martin Tomov from Greenpeace Bulgaria told BTA. Both climate change and global biodiversity are key to the health of the ocean, he added. Tomov expressed hope that Bulgaria will realize its role in protecting the oceans, even though it is not directly connected to them. Bulgaria was among the first countries to sign the agreement in 2023, but since then the second step has not been taken, the environmentalist said. He stressed that ratifying the agreement would be a historic moment for the country.

A world conference on the oceans is due to be held in Nice, France in June this year, Vida Delcheva from Greenpeace Bulgaria told BTA. The organization expects the necessary steps to be taken on the agreement by then.

In March 2023, UN states agreed on the official text of the agreement, Greenpeace explained. They pointed out that they are addressing Prime Minister Zhelyazkov directly because the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not responded to inquiries on the subject. The agreement concerns open waters outside national borders - for waters outside national jurisdiction, nature protection is currently very difficult to achieve, the organisation explained.