In a bid to protect our oceans, Project Zero has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise vital funds for a global network of ocean sanctuaries. Supported by the likes of Cara Delevigne, Rita Ora and Slash, Project Zero is committed to protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, which scientists say is the minimum required to halt its decline.
Nothing on earth absorbs more carbon dioxide or generates more oxygen than our ocean. Covering 70% of the Earth’s surface, the ocean plays a pivotal role in regulating the climate and weather patterns. It is the world’s largest ecosystem and is essential for human survival. Yet only 2% of its waters are fully protected.
An ocean sanctuary is like a national park, but in the ocean – where no one is allowed to fish, drill, mine or pollute so that the ocean can restore itself
With this in mind, Project Zero has set out to create a global network of ocean sanctuaries that will help protect our oceans from the devastating impacts of climate change. The Turn the Tide on the Climate Crisis Kickstarter is raising vital funds to support Project Zero’s mission and secure the first two ocean sanctuaries in Sri Lanka and Menorca.
“An ocean sanctuary is just like a national park, but in the ocean,” explains Project Zero CEO and Founder Michele Clarke. “These are places where no one is allowed to fish, drill, mine or pollute so that the ocean can restore itself.
Array“A healthy ocean is important to the health of our planet. In fact, nothing on earth would be alive without the ocean. The ocean creates over half the oxygen we breathe, the clouds that make rain, and stores the majority of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In order for it to keep doing its job, we need to restore it.”
Backers of Project Zero’s Kickstarter can “claim their coordinate” by adopting a piece of the ocean for as little as £5. Each backer will receive an Official Certificate with their unique coordinates, as well as project updates and introductions to the people and creatures who will benefit from the funds.
A healthy ocean is important to the health of our planet. In fact, nothing on earth would be alive without the ocean
For larger donations, backers will receive more rewards, including a customised, limited edition Ocean Bottle, with each Bottle funding the collection of 1000 plastic bottles from the sea.
Stretching from Antarctica to the Bering Strait, and mapped out by the world’s leading marine scientists and experts, this global network of projects will have the capacity to restore the ocean’s health, and set us on a path to a more sustainable future.
Sanctuaries allow ocean life to flourish unharmed by the effects of overfishing, oil drilling and plastic pollution. In these protected areas, fishes and invertebrates reproduce and grow to full size, creating rich biodiversity that is crucial to the carbon cycle.
Fish stocks can immigrate from sanctuaries to other areas of the ocean, securing a global food source that billions of people rely on daily. As a result, more oxygen is produced and greater amounts of carbon can be stored in the seas, reducing the effects of extreme weather and helping mediate the climate.
It’s estimated that 93% of the Earth’s CO2 is stored or cycled through the oceans
Today, the biggest threat to our planet is climate change. It’s estimated that 93% of the Earth’s CO2 is stored or cycled through the oceans. With climate change, rising ocean temperatures and increased acidity levels are harming marine life, which is essential for regulating the climate, and slowing the ocean’s natural function as a carbon sink.
Creatures of all sizes – from tiny Antarctic krill to whales – help remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the deep sea for thousands of years and the Earth can’t afford to lose them; the ocean being its life support system. Without oceans, there would be no life, which is why it’s crucial we take immediate action to protect them.
As the world grapples with a pandemic, climate action has dropped in the global agenda, but if anything, Covid-19 has underscored the interconnectedness of our world.
“We’re a part of nature, not separate from it,” says Clarke. “Our own health is inextricably tied to the health of our planet. During the pandemic, we’ve seen incredible visions of the Himalayas visible for the first time in 30 years. But sadly, the short-term positive effects are insignificant to the overall picture.
By restoring the health of our ocean, we can get one of our biggest weapons in the fight against the climate crisis back in shape
“In the long run, the pandemic could be a disaster for the climate as our global economic restart portends a worsening climate scenario as governments have suspended enforcement of environmental regulations and have used the pandemic to renege on climate pledges.
“The climate is an irreversible transformation. Unlike the pandemic, there will be no ‘going back to normal’. There is no vaccine for the climate crisis. By restoring the health of our ocean, we can get one of our biggest weapons in the fight against the climate crisis back in shape.”
For just a few pounds, you can support Project Zero and help protect the oceans. Backers of Project Zero’s Kickstarter can “claim their coordinate” by adopting a piece of the ocean, depending on their donation amount. Pledges start at £5, rewarding donors with 500 m2 of the ocean. Learn more about Project Zero at weareprojectzero.org.
