In 2016, countries came together to protect a huge part of Antarctica's ocean, creating the world's largest marine reserve

• image AI generatedInternational conservation agreements rarely come together quickly.
• They tend to move through years of scientific review, political disagreement and repeated rounds of negotiation before anyone reaches a final decision.
• The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area was no exception, an agreement that turned a vast stretch of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica into the largest marine reserve ever created at the time.