- At the ongoing U.S. State Department’s Our Ocean 2016 Conference, in Washington, D.C., the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Waitt Foundation, the blue moon fund (bmf), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together announced a commitment of $48 million to expand and improve marine protected area (MPA) coverage across the world’s oceans.
- The $48 million funds will be used for activities such as outreach to stakeholders, working with local governments to get MPAs created, and supporting management of MPAs.
- Funds will initially be used to expand MPAs in the tropics in areas with high biodiversity that also have a high human dependence on the marine environment.
Marine protected areas just got a huge boost.
At the ongoing U.S. State Department’s Our Ocean 2016 Conference, in Washington, D.C., the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Waitt Foundation, the blue moon fund (bmf), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), together announced a commitment of $48 million to expand and improve marine protected area (MPA) coverage across the world’s oceans.
“The investment is a combination of resources allocated by the GEF to partner governments to improve the management of MPAs,” Caleb McClennen, WCS Vice President for Global Conservation, told Mongabay. “The types of activities include science, outreach to stakeholders, working with local governments to get MPAs created, and supporting management of MPAs. This will be done by WCS-in-country staff, local partners, and the governments themselves.”
Marine biodiversity is seriously threatened at the moment. More than 70 percent of the world’s fish stocks are either overexploited or have collapsed, majority of coral reefs are damaged by overfishing, destructive fishing and climate change-driven warming, and resource extraction activities like mining continue to damage and transform the seabed. Yet, only four percent of the oceans are currently formally protected by marine protected areas.
Conservationists hope to use the $48 million funds to increase MPA coverage to meet or exceed the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Biodiversity Targets of protecting 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020, and 30 percent by 2030, according to a statement by WCS.
The conservation group will focus its work primarily in the tropics, McClennen said, in areas with high biodiversity that also have a high human dependence on the marine environment.
The initial list of countries eligible for support though these funds include Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Djibuti, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Peru, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Turkey, Tuvalu and Vietnam.
“Though the target is to protect 10 percent of the world’s oceans by 2020, each country will have to work at its own pace,” McClennen said. “Some countries will be more ready and some countries will need more support. Things can change due to local politics.”
Cristián Samper, President and CEO of WCS, added, “It is time for bold and catalytic action for ocean conservation. We must recognize the critical role MPAs play in protecting habitat, improving fisheries, supporting local livelihoods and securing the long-term health of marine biodiversity and the oceans. The oceans are our future, and this new fund represents a commitment to safeguarding this invaluable resource.”
