Greenpeace activists protested with an octopus in front of the Council of Ministers, demanding ratification of the ocean agreement (photos)

With a giant octopus placed in front of the Council of Ministers, activists from Greenpeace Bulgaria urged Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to ratify the International Ocean Agreement. They are directly addressing him after receiving no response to any of the organisation’s inquiries regarding the planned actions on the issue from the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greenpeace said.

The action is taking place exactly two years after March 4, 2023, when the UN member states agreed on the official text of the agreement.

"In times of increasing uncertainty in international politics, this text is actually a huge victory – its finalisation took 20 years of negotiations between countries. It ensures accessibility to marine resources and the protection of nature in international waters. The agreement concerns the open waters beyond national borders, where the protection of nature is currently very difficult to achieve. This is the first clear framework in history for declaring protected areas in the oceans and for assessing the impact of human activities on life there," the organisation states.

Photos by BTA

"Bulgaria was among the first countries to sign, but so far, it has not yet completed the practical process of approving it—the so-called ratification. Whether and when we will do so is of importance for the whole world. This international treaty can only come into effect once 60 countries ratify it. If this does not happen now, we lose the opportunity to protect 30% of the world’s waters by 2030," commented Martin Tomov from Greenpeace Bulgaria.

"The high seas are not anyone’s property and cover over 50% of the planet’s surface. It may seem like the oceans are far from us, but in reality, they affect life at every point on the planet," added Martin Tomov.

"Under normal natural conditions, the oceans can easily self-regulate, but unfortunately, human influence has severely disrupted this ability. The octopus we have here symbolizes ocean life, which we want to protect—multifaceted and still largely unexplored by scientists."

The inflatable octopus is travelling around the world reminding governments that although the oceans may seem far away, they are important to life across the planet. The octopus has already been to the UK, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Norway and Poland.