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Covering 2/3 of our planet, oceans are fundamental to human wellbeing - they ensure livelihoods for millions of people and provide food security for billions of people while coastal ecosystems protect populations from storms and flooding - to name just a few of numerous benefits. Valued at over US$1 trillion annually, these resources are threatened worldwide by unsustainable fishing, land and sea-based pollution, habitat destruction and a changing global climate.
As a result, 30 percent of the world’s marine fish stock is overexploited, 35% of mangrove forests have been lost, and 20% of reefs have been destroyed beyond recovery.
At the event of World Ocean Day and recognizing the significance of marine fisheries, which provide 4.3 billion people with 15% of their protein employing over 60 million people
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CFI was approved at last week’s 48th GEF council and represents a strategic partnership to demonstrate holistic ecosystem based management and improved governance of coastal fisheries. The CFI addresses all coastal fisheries in the EEZ, which complements GEF’s comprehensive and long-standing support to multi-country cooperation for sustainable management of the world’s Large Marine Ecosystems.
Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) provide an ecosystems based framework for cooperation among respective government to sustainably manage their transboundary coastal and marine resources and to share benefits derived from them. The GEF has supported 23 LMEs around the world as exemplified by the GEF/UNDP Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem project [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeI7mwj2R-s], which brought together Angola, Namibia and South Africa and supported the signing of the Benguela Current Convention and formation of the first LME based cooperative institution, the Benguela Current Commission.
At the same time the GEF supports national efforts fostering the conservation and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems resulting in a portfolio of more than 250 marine protected areas. The recently approved Seychelles Debt-Swap between the Government of Seychelles and Paris Club impact investors is an example of bringing innovative financing to further marine protected areas and climate change adaptation. [http://www.naturevesttnc.org/our-projects/oceans/seychelles-debt-swap/]
The GEF is committed to a source-to-sea approach, which addresses the entire watershed to ensure sustainability. With this approach in mind, the GEF is working to address land and sea-based pollution, such as addressing nutrient pollution contributing to ocean hypoxia. The oceans are further threatened by anthropogenic threats including marine debris [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mthilsf3Hyc], which is expected to increase with growing population pressures.
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Working in partnership with countries and institutions worldwide, the GEF looks forward to building on successes to date to ensure the sustainability of our oceans for the benefit of present and future generations.
