*[Enwl-eng] Baby whales, turtles, coral reefs

[ENWL]

Hi,

My name is Virginia and I'm writing to you from Spain. You may have seen my 
name in your inbox. I am totally passionate about what people power can 
achieve to make Europe a better place.

Today I want to tell you a great story of change from Spain that is already 
happening and to make you part of it. A story about protecting whales, 
dolphins, sharks, turtles and coral reefs, all living in a marine sanctuary 
that is about to get destroyed.

On Monday, I found that social media had exploded with thousands of people 
across Spain saying 'no' to a megaport in the Canary Islands. A megaport 
that threatens this marine sanctuary and all that live there. In just a few 
days, those thousands of supporters grew to be a quarter of a million!


The people running this campaign knew they had to act when they found out 
that this terrible project could go ahead AND be funded by EU funds that are 
meant to 'green our economy'. [1] There is nothing green about a megaport 
that attracts more emissions from ships whilst destroying endangered 
animals!

In reality, way too many of these destructive mega projects are happening 
across Europe. But we are not going to wait until it happens on our own 
doorstep to take action. This story is ultimately a European one. So too was 
the Kresna Gorge highway in Bulgaria we fought, or the Rio Tinto mine in 
Serbia we are currently fighting. [2]

Europe is not just about EU politics. It's about what is going on in all of 
our hometowns, villages and countries. It’s about how we join forces to 
influence what is happening. That is what we are called to do now.

When a bunch of people chose YouMove Europe as the place to host their 
petition to protect wildlife, they knew this wasn’t another ‘local issue’. 
[3] After all, the baby whale 'Hope,' whose tail was cut by a boat in the 
sanctuary, and the reefs and turtles that suffered its same fate aren’t 
'Canarian'. The activists had a vision. They knew this is an international 
issue – people are now responding back to their initiative: 'yes, it is, yes 
we care'.


Click here to see a short video of Hope, a baby whale, crying as her tail 
was cut by a passing boat in the sanctuary. Hope didn’t survive.

This campaign needs to be fought on different levels. Right now, I'm 
preparing to meet those who started this petition on the ground, and figure 
out how we win a campaign to stop European money from being spent on this 
madness. But a whole lot of people in Tenerife are hoping you will help them 
by signing this petition.

            Sign the petition now


This is just the beginning. Watch this space as the European fight to 
protect wildlife and biodiversity kicks off and becomes a story of 
solidarity and change.

Thank you for being part of this,
Virginia (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), David (London) and the entire WeMove 
Europe team



References:
[1] In order to protect the biodiversity of this ecosystem, the Teno-Rasca 
strip was catalogued in 2011 as a Special Conservation Zone within the 
Natura 2000 Network, a list of European protected areas for its 
conservation. However, the map left a gap in its centre, between the towns 
of Alcalá and Playa San Juan, where the construction of the port is planned.
[2] 
https://www.eldiario.es/canariasahora/tenerifeahora/sociedad/campana-puerto-fonsalia-acerca-200-000-firmas-viralizarse-fuera-canarias_1_8171829.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.es/medio-ambiente/2021/07/nuevo-puerto-comercial-amenaza-reciente-santuario-de-ballenas-de-tenerife
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CR4-P7vo2rg/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRwcDthr0Px/
[2] https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/Save-the-Kresna-Gorge
https://you.wemove.eu/campaigns/stop-rio-tinto-mine
[3] You can read more information (in Spanish) about this campaign, and the 
growing number of organisations supporting it here: 
https://www.noalpuertodefonsalia.com



You Move Europe is an online action platform dedicated to help making Europe 
a more democratic, environmentally and socially just place. You Move Europe 
puts power in your hands. If you have an idea to make Europe a better place, 
You Move Europe helps you make it a reality. Petitions on this platform are 
started and run by civil society groups and members of the public. WeMove 
Europe hosts these petitions and they are in line with our values but they 
are not necessarily endorsed by WeMove Europe.


From: Virginia - WeMove Europe
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2021 1:48 PM
Subject: Baby whales, turtles, coral reefs

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.enwl.net.ru/pipermail/enwl-eng/attachments/20210804/e9cbcfc7/attachment-0001.html>