Google have unveiled a tool that lets people view protected marine areas with the click of a mouse. The feature on Google Earth displays icons indicating sensitive areas of the world's oceans, from the waters off the Galapagos Islands to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.A click on them brings up photos and/or video of the sites and marine life there, as well as text explaining the sites, how they are managed and local maritime lore.
Google Earth project manager said the tool presented, which Google Earth calls a layer, is the culmination of a yearlong project to let conservationists bring hard science to the general public in an entertaining way. The new feature was presented at a congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a grouping of more than 1,000 government and nongovernment organizations and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.
Google Earth is the platform for the new tool and helped develop it with the IUCN and the World Commission on Protected Areas. Around 4,500 spots scattered around the world's oceans have been designated as marine protected areas, which means activities such as commercial or recreational fishing are restricted or outright banned to protect dwindling stocks of fish and other marine species.
Not all of them are featured on the Google tool, but its creators say it is nonetheless a groundbreaking way to get people all over the world interested in the environment.
