CORALREEFLIFE

Declaration

By adopting the Sustainable Development Goal # 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of theocean,seasandmarineresources,wecommittedtoprotectingLifebelowWater.1

AttheUNOceanConferenceinJune2017weundertookto:

“develop and implement effective adaptation andmitigationmeasures that contribute to increasing andsupporting resilience tooceanandcostalacidification, sea level riseand increase inocean temperatures,andtoaddressingtheotherharmfulimpactsofclimatechangeontheoceanaswellascoastalbluecarbonecosystems, such as mangroves, tidal marches, seagrass and coral reefs, and wider interconnectedecosystems impacting on our ocean, and ensure the implementation of relevant obligations andcommitments.”2

BECAUSELIFEaboveWaterdependsuponthehealthofLifebelowWater,includingthehealthofcoral reefswhichmaintain someof the richest biodiversity on our planet, and thus sustain theirreplaceablecultureandlivelihoodsofcoralreefspeoples.3

BECAUSECORALREEFSAREHOTSPOTSOFBIODIVERSITYhostinginlessthan0.2%ofthetotalsurfaceoftheoceannolessthan30%ofthespeciesofmarinelifeknowntodate4.

BECAUSEHEALTHYCORALREEFSCANGENERATE5TO15TONSOFFISHpersquarekilometreeachyear.5

BECAUSECORALREEFSREPRESENTATRILLIONDOLLARASSETattheveryleast,withbenefitsforhundredsofmillionsofvulnerablecoastalpeopleallovertheworld6.

BECAUSE HEALTHY CORAL REEFS ECOSYSTEMS REDUCE 97% of WAVE ENERGY and act as barriers tostorms and are the first line defence for millions of people globally, preventing catastrophic erosion,floodinganddestruction.7

BECAUSECORALREEF-RELATEDTOURISMgeneratesannualrevenuesof$36billionglobally.8

BECAUSETHESEVEREIMPACTSOFCLIMATECHANGEANDOCEANACIDIFICATIONonmarine,coastalandisland life are expected to continue to grow, and include unprecedented temperature-related coralbleachingandmortalityevents,risingsealevel,floodingofcoastalandislandcommunities,andstormsofunparalleleddestructivestrengthand frequency,aswellas increasingreeferosioncatalysedbychangingseawaterchemistry.

BECAUSE OVERFISHING, EUTROPHICATION, SEDIMENTATION AND POLLUTION, which result from badmanagementpractices,weakentheresistanceandresilienceofcoralreefsandincreasetheirvulnerability.

BECAUSETHEOPPORTUNITIESOFTHEBLUEECONOMYWILLBELOSTifwedestroytheassetsuponwhichitdepends,especiallycoralreefsincoral-dependentSmallIslandDevelopingStates,jeopardisingeconomicopportunityformillionsoflivelihoods.

BECAUSETHEVERYEXISTENCEANDFUTUREOFSMALLISLANDDEVELOPINGSTATESandotherislandandcoastalcoral-dependentcommunitiesarebeingcompromised.

WESHALL:

1. WIDENAWARENESSOFCORALREEFECOSYSTEMSASKEYINDICATORSOFOCEANANDPLANETARYHEALTH,aswellastheirenvironmental,economic,socialandculturalvaluesduringtheThirdInternationalYearoftheReef(IYOR2018)declaredbytheInternationalCoralReefInitiative(ICRI),whilecontributingtotheprioritiessetinICRI’s2016-2018actionplan,andascalledforbyResolution2/12oftheUNEA.

2. SUBMIT,ASPARTOFOURPARISAGREEMENTCOMMITMENTS,NATIONALLYDETERMINEDCONTRIBUTIONSthatpromotetheambitiousactiononclimatechangerequiredtoavoiddamagingcoralreefsanyfurtherandtohelp,throughprotectionandconservation,reef-dependentpeopletoadaptandincreaseecologicalresiliencetoclimatechange.

3. ENCOURAGETHEINTERGOVERNMENTALPANELONCLIMATECHANGE(IPCC)tohighlighttheroleandfateofcoralreefecosystems,andtoexploreandpromotesolutions,intheirpreparationforthelaunchinSeptember2019ofitsSpecialReportonClimateChange,OceansandtheCryosphere.

4. PROMOTEHIGH-LEVELMULTIDISCIPLINARYRESEARCHontherecentcoralreefbleachingevents,withaviewtounderstandingresilienceandadaptationneeds,bebetterpreparedtopredictfutureeventsandthusorientpublicpolicies.

5. SUPPORTLOCALADAPTATIONANDMANAGEMENTSTRATEGIESaimedatincreasingtheresilienceofcoralreefsregionally.

6. AIMTODEVELOPENVIRONMENTALLYSUSTAINABLEBUSINESSMODELSthatactivelypromotethehealthofcoralreefsbyengagingtheprivatesector.

7. WORKWITHTHEBUSINESSCOMMUNITYtoreducecoral-relatedinvestmentrisks.

8. IDENTIFYANDPROMOTETHEFINANCIALBENEFITSOFINVESTINGINCORALREEFSasassetsofasustainableblueeconomy.

9. ASKTHEHOSTSOFTHE5thOUROCEANCONFERENCEtoscheduleahighlevelplenarysessionon

actionfortheenhancementoftheresilienceofcoralreefenvironments,specificallyonfinanceandcapacitybuildingatthescaleneededtoensurethatwedonotlosetheseworld’smostdiverseecosystem.

10. INVITEOTHERCOUNTRIEStojointhisdeclaration.

1https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg142Paragraph13kofOurOcean,OurFuture:CallforAction,June2017http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/312&Lang=E3BiodiversityII:UnderstandingandProtectingOurNaturalResources,pp.88-108.JosephHenry/Nat.Acad.Press,Washington,D.C.4Theglobalbiodiversityofcoralreefs:acomparisonwithrainforests,Reaka-KudlaMJ(1997),inBiodiversity,Reaka-Kudlaetal.eds5ReefsatRiskRevisited,Burkeetal.2011.6Hoegh-Guldberg,O.etal.2015.RevivingtheOceanEconomy:thecaseforaction-2015.WWFInternational,Gland,Switzerland.

7Ferrarioetal.2014.Theeffectivenessofcoralreefsforcoastalhazardriskreductionandadaptation.NatureComm5:37948MappingtheGlobalValueandDistributionofCoralReefTourism,Spaldingetal.inMarinePolicy,August2017http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X17300635