Oil & gas: Establishing no-go areas

WWF's Global Marine Programme is working to obtain commitments from the oil and gas industry that it will not work in or near Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

Our position is that, if corporate responsibility is to be credible, then the industry must act responsibly and not set a bad example to others by entering areas which are not appropriate for development. We also believe that impact and risk are separate and that in some areas, oil operations are too high a risk to accept.

Identifying areas at risk
At present, just 0.6% of the world's oceans are designated as MPAs. We are therefore advocating for the identification worldwide of areas of high conservation value (for example, on account of their biodiversity, productivity, critical habitats, or rare and threatened species) which are particularly sensitive to or at risk from oil & gas developments, including exploration. These areas should then be included in representative networks of MPAs.

Keeping out of MPAs
It's not enough to simply designate MPAs - companies and governments must also accept that these protected sites are no-go areas for oil and gas exploration and development. We are therefore engaging directly with companies with the aim of altering their policy with regard to MPAs. We are also working with governments to ensure that MPAs are adequately protected and managed.

In addition, we are working towards the recognition of no-go areas as a management tool within international and regional frameworks for the management of marine areas. These include UNEP Regional Seas Programmes; the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic; and the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area.


Working in priority areas
WWF has identified a number of priority marine ecoregions where we particularly believe the oil and gas industry should stay out of sensitive areas, and where MPAs should be established. Examples of our work in these ecoregions include:

• Barents Sea: WWF campaigned successfully for the Norwegian government to designate the Lofoten Islands as a petroleum-free zone. We are continuing to campaign against full-scale development of the Goliath oil field off northern Norway, an area close to major seabird colonies and fish spawning grounds, as well as development in other areas of the Barents Sea.
  
  
• Sea of Okhotsk: WWF is campaigning against the building offshore platforms and pipelines in and through the feeding grounds of a critically endangered population of gray whales off the remote island of Sakhalin, Russia.
  
  
• West Africa: WWF is working with the government, industry, and civic leaders in Nigeria to minimize the risks of oil and gas development to vital fisheries, tourism, and community assets.
  
  
• West Indian Ocean: WWF is working with the Malagasy government to promote equity and transparency in developing offshore oil and gas fields in order to protect threatened coral reefs, mangroves, and fishing zones. The government has recently endorsed measures to broaden public participation in oil-related negotiations and ascribe to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.