Antarctic talks fail on apparent Russia objections

Now this is an issue near and dear to my heart as the icy continent is a special side focus of mine and has been for a fairly long time. It's one area in the world that is, almost entirely, pristine. They regulate and/or ban things right down to deodorant and perfume for those that travel to and work/live on the Ice. The approach and attitude of preservation to perfection is near absolute and very serious on all levels there.

^^ Within that context for the overall Antarctic 'climate' of regulation and mindset, comes this effort for new agreements:

BREMERHAVEN, Germany (AP) — Facing apparent Russian objections, the countries that regulate Antarctic fishing failed Tuesday to agree on proposals to create giant marine sanctuaries in the continent's oceans.

Talks in the German city of Bremerhaven ended with no result — the second time in less than a year that negotiations have stalled.

The intentions sound modest enough, all things considered. Within the larger context as described above, they sound reasonable too, given the location here.

Two plans were on the table: a proposal put forward by the U.S. and New Zealand to protect the Ross Sea, considered one of the world's most pristine, and an Australian-European plan for a sanctuary covering several areas of the Southern Ocean in the eastern hemisphere.

Source

Hopefully some accommodation can be found and an agreement made at some future point then? I think exploration and knowledge of the Continent down there is very important, but not exploitation of it and certainly not outside the most careful controls for trying to prevent the trashing of the place. It's the only true frontier left on this planet. It'd be nice if that didn't become past tense with an "oops" from the back of the room in hindsight of what's done down there.