Insuring oceans against climate change

IUCN Media Advisory

Insuring oceans against climate change

IUCN Marine Protected Area Summit in Washington, DC (10-12 April 2007) will come up with survival strategies for oceans and people in the face of climate change, overfishing and other threats to the marine environment

Gland, Switzerland and Washington, DC, 4 April 2007 (IUCN): Oceans minimize climate change impacts, but climate change also puts them at risk: oceans are the world’s largest carbon sink, absorbing around 50% of atmospheric CO2 every year. While this helps slow down the greenhouse effect, it creates considerable threat to marine and human life: oceans become more acid, which threatens marine species like coral reefs, a major source of income and protein for millions of people worldwide.

Only 1% of oceans are protected today – compared to over 12% of the land surface. Overfishing, pollution and uncontrolled coastal development increase the risk to marine life – with a major implication for climate change: continued discharges of carbon dioxide and poor management of marine areas may turn oceans from a carbon sink to a major carbon source, releasing vast stores of carbon into the atmosphere, thus exacerbating climate change.

The Marine Protected Area Summit, held from 10-12 April in Washington, D.C. by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), will bring together leading marine experts from science, civil society and governments around the world to devise strategies how marine protected areas can help oceans survive in the face of climate change, overfishing and other threats to the marine environment.

The Summit will launch a “Global Marine Protected Area Challenge”, identifying priorities for action for the marine community and governments around the world. This document will call for increased marine science, more and better connected marine protected areas, improved fisheries management and climate change response measures in relation to marine reserves.

The Summit will also launch the “Wet List”, which will be a new annual report on the state of the art in marine conservation, drawing on the expertise of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, the world’s largest network of protected area experts.

The Summit:
IUCN Marine Protected Area Summit, organized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

Date:
10-12 April 2007

Venue:
National Geographic Society, Washington DC, USA

Ends

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