REEF REPORT: JUNE EDITION
Coral Gardeners
Revolutionizing ocean conservation to save the reef, through restoration efforts, awareness, and innovation & science.
This month, we’ve made a special edition of our Reef Report rounding up milestones and wins from the United Nations Ocean Conference that was held in Nice, France where governments, scientists, practitioners and NGOs came together during a series of events to accelerate action to protect and restore our ocean.
__
French Polynesia created the world’s largest Marine Protected Area
Our home country led the way in ocean protection as the government of French Polynesia announced the creation of a marine protected area (MPA) that will cover around 5 million km², which will make it the largest one on Earth. Learn more here.
A coalition signed the 1st pledge to protect climate-resilient coral reefs
Papua New Guinea, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, and The Nature Conservancy co-hosted an event in Nice where 11 governments signed the first political commitment to protect climate-resilient coral reefs, raising the bar for ocean action in a warming world. Read more here.
The High Seas Treaty gained more signatures and momentum
At the conference, 18 countries ratified the High Seas Treaty (known as BBNJ Agreement), bringing the total to 50, just 10 short of the 60 needed for it to enter into force, which is key to protecting marine biodiversity and achieving the global 30x30 target. Learn more here.
The UK announced plans to ban bottom trawling across 30,000 sq km
The government will ban bottom trawling within 41 offshore Marine Protected Areas, following strong public support for the e-action led by Only One, Oceana, and Blue Marine Foundation, as well as the provocative Bottom Line campaign featuring Stephen Fry and Theo James. Discover more here.
Our partner, SEA BEYOND – an initiative from Prada Group and UNESCO announced the launch of their Multi-Partner Trust. With an initial €2 million contribution from Prada, the initiative will mobilize financial resources from a variety of partners to restore the relationship between humankind and the ocean. Learn more here.
That’s a wrap for this special edition Reef Report from UNOC.
Stay tuned for next month’s articles!