A recent report shows that the protection of oceans have barely increased by 0.5% since 2022 The Kunming Montreal World Biodiversity Framework was signed, the ‘expiry date’ of which is 2030. At that rate, out of the proposed 30%, protection of 9.8% of the global marine area will hardly be achieved.
Overcoming the biodiversity crisis is impossible if the oceans are not taken into account. Recovery and protect 30% of the seas and oceans, fight plastic pollution and minimizing the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on biological diversity are tasks present in Goals 2, 3, 7 and 8 of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Progress made on these issues will be assessed at the Conference of the Parties (COP16), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)that takes place in this Colombian city.
Maximiliano Bello, an advisor on international ocean policy who has been working with various environmental organizations for more than twenty years, notes that with regard to protection targets of 30%, there is good news and others not so much.
The negative is that, as he says, the planet is still far from achieving that goal: “Let’s not forget that it is the protecting 30% of the entire oceannot just what corresponds to each of the countries [las primeras 200 millas náuticas]”.
The positive thing is that Latin America is a leader in ocean protectionin many cases more than 30%. Chile stands at 45% and Panama has protected 54% of its seas and oceans. Moreover, just a few weeks ago, Panama created a new marine protected area. However, Bello emphasizes that progress must be made faster.
The report On Course or Off Course?, published days before COP16 began by several international non-governmental organizations, shows that only 2.8% of the ocean is considered likely to be effectively protected. That is another worrying figure only 8.3% of the ocean is designated as marine protected areas (AMP), and most of them are “paper” or poorly regulated.
Furthermore, the report warns that the broad definition of MPAs is being applied inconsistently by countries. leave room for ‘bluewashing’as many MPAs allow the continuation of activities that are incompatible with the effective conservation of biodiversity, such as industrial-scale fishing and fishing methods harmful to marine fauna, oil and gas extraction, mining, dredging and dumping.
The Kunming Montreal World Framework’s 30×30 goal is the most ambitious conservation commitment ever achieved, but organizations in their report that the global marine area enjoys some form of protection has increased by just 0.5% since 2022 “and at that rate, only 9.7% of the ocean will be protected by 2030.”
Beth Pike, director of the Marine Conservation Institute’s Marine Protection Atlas, says that “quality still lags behind quantity: less than 3% of marine areas are truly protected. The gap between engagement and action is enormous, and without urgent and meaningful protection the goal of 30×30 will remain unachieved. “It is time to translate our commitments into real, meaningful change now, because our ocean cannot wait.”
Jason Schatz, CTO of conservation technology nonprofit SkyTruth, and co-author of the report, said: “It is essential that 30×30 data is accessible, transparent and easy to useso that all stakeholders can see clearly how far we have come and how we can accelerate the momentum for protecting global biodiversity. “When everyone has access to the same information, we can make collective decisions about how to move forward in an inclusive and effective way.”
The report: On course or off course? It also only reveals that Fourteen countries have designated more than 30% of their waters as protected areas. The crucial point for researchers is that most of these statements do not contain robust research showing that these protections are effective and that what they want to preserve is actually protected.
Oceans and financing
One issue that experts hope will be addressed in this second week of COP16 negotiations is progress in ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity on the High Seas, an international agreement aimed at conserving biodiversity and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas outside national jurisdictions [200 millas náuticas]that is, in international waters. This treaty is important because the high seas make up about 64% of the ocean.
Maximiliano Bello notes that this international agreement cannot enter into force until at least sixty countries ratify it. “We currently have about fourteen countries. With ratification we will… possibility of creating marine areas on the high seas. “Many countries are coming to COP16 to say they are close to ratifying the treaty.”
The theme of The financing of the oceans is also a point of discussion. Bello says that many developing countries are coming to the COPs asking how they will pay for the exploitation of the new protected areas.
The expert assures that countries have a way to pay for it: “There is money, because those subsidies that are put into extractive activities we can ultimately use to protect local communities and even generate resources” and adds that “we have to turning the money that is helping to destroy biodiversity today into money that is already supporting communities projects in protected areas that give us oxygen and food”.
For his part, Juan Pablo Caldas, Director of Sustainability of Marine and Fisheries Resources at Conservation International Colombia, assures that it is important that Let’s think about the scope of financial mechanismsthat not only focus on achieving biodiversity goals, but at the same time focus on promoting social and environmental justice.
“This is especially taking into account the fact that the most vulnerable communities are located in the most biodiverse places.” In the COP16 has been an announcement that can encourage the private and financial sectors also more related to ocean finance issues.
The organizations Arcadia, Becht Foundation, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Blue Action Fund, Blue Nature Alliance, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Oceans 5, Paul M Angell Family Foundation, Schmidt Ocean Institute and Vere Initiatives have pledged $51, $7 million announced to accelerate development of high-quality offshore MPAs.
The new funding is seen as the largest contribution of private philanthropy to the world goal to protect the oceans to date. It will also support the establishment of an international consensus that monitors and manages the necessary governance processes that ensure the rapid implementation of MPAs on the high seas.
Antonio José Paz Cardona – Mongabay