Appropriate tools and mechanism must be developed to protect ocean resources and biodiversity while sustaining livelihoods that are compatible with healthy ecosystems.
Furthermore, ecosystems situated in the deep ocean, where biodiversity and habitats often have major value, but are generally not well understood, have virtually no protection at all.
Through its unique programmes and networks, UNESCO provides platforms to bridge the gap between policy-makers, managers and other stakeholders, along with policy-relevant, timely and reliable scientific information, data and statistics in such fields as the ocean, freshwater, biodiversity and ecosystems, science and technology.
At stake is the need to limit ocean acidification and the decline in biodiversity while setting up more effective institutional mechanisms to protect both the ocean and coastal areas.
Some of the key areas highlighted included marine biodiversity conservation, ocean acidification, marine pollution, and the required investment in science and capacity development for transitioning to a blue-green economy.
In sea water, this forms carbonic acid which adds to ocean acidification, with consequent problems for biodiversity.
They provide safe havens for ocean wildlife to recover and maintain healthy biodiversity, supporting habitats that act as carbon sinks, removing CO2 from the air and generating the majority of atmospheric oxygen.
CNN: An SOS on World Oceans Day: Save our seas, save ourselves
What is going on in the deep ocean is so badly understood that estimates of biodiversity there range from 100, 000 species to 100m.
Securing the role of the ocean as a source of life, of food and of biodiversity, requires effective action at many levels.
International conventions are an essential tool for protecting marine biodiversity, given the lack of physical barriers in the ocean to confine species to a single zone.
The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) is an open, online database and tool on the biodiversity, geographic distribution and abundance of marine life.
The story beginning overleaf assesses the implications for marine biodiversity of transgressing planetary boundaries, due to human-induced changes to the climate system, pollution and ocean acidification, as well as more direct threats like invasive species, overfishing and habitat destruction.
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