Greenpeace volunteers deploy a large banner on the wall of Lappia house in Rovaniemi calling for “Ocean Sanctuaries Now” as the environment ministers of the Arctic states are meeting in Rovaniemi. The global oceans and the Arctic Ocean in particular are under unprecedented pressure due to climate change, extractive industries and pollution, and conservation is lacking behind international commitments.

Nearly 9 million people around the world have joined Greenpeace’s campaign to Save the Arctic. The image on the banner is composed of hundreds of photographs sent by these people. Greenpeace highlights the responsibility of the Arctic ministers for protecting the Arctic Ocean and for ensuring that designation of ocean sanctuaries takes place in collaboration with Arctic Indigenous communities, accounting for subsistence rights and incorporating Indigenous knowledge.