MARINE NEWS IUCN GLOBAL MARINE AND POLAR PROGRAMME ISSUE 12 - NOVEMBER 2015 Climate Change Adaptation Special MARINE NEWS Issue 12 -November 2015 In this Issue... IUCN Global Marine and Polar Programme 1 Editorial Rue Mauverney 28 By Pierre-Yves Cousteau 1196 Gland, Switzerland Tel +4122 999 0217 Fax +4122 999 0002 2 Overview of the GMPP www.iucn.org/marine 4 Global Threats Editing and design: Oceans and Climate Change, Alexis McGivern © Pierre-Yves Cousteau Ocean Warming, Ocean Acidifi- Back issues available cation, Plastic pollution The ocean is our future; for better or externalisation of environmental costs beginning of the “digitization of the at: www.iucn.org/about/ for worse. (to abolish the business practice of Earth”. How will Big Data shape con- work/programmes/marine/ deferring onto society and natural servation, sustainable development gmpp_newsletter “There are no passengers on space- capital all the negative impacts of and decision making? 12 Global Coasts ship Earth. We are all crew.” - Mar- economic activities), and the cogni- Front cover: © XL Catlin shall McLuhan, 1965. tive frameworks and values that we We are living a fascinating time, where Blue Solutions and Blue Forests, are conditioned for by mainstream the immense challenges mankind fac- Seaview Survey The advent of agriculture over 10,000 media and politicians (obsession with es are matched by the technological Vamizi, Maldives, WGWAP, BEST years ago had a profound socio-eco- financial success, personal image ability to innovate and adapt. The bar- Top picture: A fire coral be- Initiative nomic impact on mankind. Today and hedonism). These challenges riers that hold us back from designing fore and after bleaching. On however, when it comes to the ocean, also bring new opportunities, such as and implementing truly sustainable the left is a healthy fire cor- we are still very much hunter-gather- blue financial products derived from societies worldwide are mostly per- ers. The sea belongs to no one, and the improved management of eco- ceptual, within our minds. As my late al, while the right shows a 28 Global Commons to everyone. So in addition to being systems, new sources of energy and father Captain Cousteau once said: completely bleached coral. out of sight, it is lost to the tragedy of mineral resources, and a new under- “The day every citizen of the Earth Seamounts, High seas conserva- the commons, as defined by Aris- standing of the ocean system. Our considers himself as a steward of the Bottom picture: The tion, Sargasso Sea, Poles totle: “That which is common to the ability to make the right choices, and environment, we will be very close to bleaching at Airport Reef in greatest number has the least care to meet these challenges successful- the solution.” bestowed upon it.” ly, is impaired by blind spots in our American Samoa assessed knowledge of the oceans. by marine biologist Alice 34 Marine and Coastal News from As our societies turn an avid eye Lawrence. towards the ocean, in quest for per- In order to sustainably manage Around the Union petual economic growth, we are at a the ocean, we need to better Editorial IUCN GMPP overview fascinating crossroads. Blue growth understand it. The ocean ab- Mediterranean, South East Asia, can come as the nail in the ocean’s sorbs 90% of our planet’s heat and Global Coasts: © IUCN coffin, with intensifying and unregu- captures one fourth of our CO2 With the United Nations Climate Maldives Oceania, West Africa, MCSC, lated fishing and mining, a plunder of emissions. So much remains to be Change Summit later this year in Seven Seas, WCPA Task Force the sea already well eroded by thou- discovered today. The temperature Paris, we can hope that the leaders of Global Commons: © John sands of years of carelessness. Or of the sea at depth for instance, the world will use all available envi- Weller blue growth can come as a milestone at ecosystem scale, is still today ronmental data to make intelligent, breakthrough for our species, with a completely unknown. Realising this, informed, unbiased decisions about 44 New Publications sustainable and rational management I launched Project Hermes (www. the future of our planet. Global Threats: © William of its habitats and resources, ac- project-hermes.com) this summer, Rodriguez Schepis counting for the erosion and recovery to collect diving-related computer Pierre-Yves Cousteau 45 Who we are of ecosystem services, and em- data from recreational divers and Back cover: © IUCN Mal- ploying our ingenuity to creating net dive centres in order to monitor the positive value. temperature of the ocean at depth, dives Addressing the immense challeng- worldwide, in near real-time. The 48 Where we work es the ocean faces today (climate consolidation of massive databases, change, pollution, overfishing…) is which combine multiple sources of raising stimulating new questions environmental data (such as global about international governance (which satellite observations, field research is non-existent in the high-seas), the and citizen science) represents the 2 © Carl Gustaf Lundin 1 specific targeted action in order to be contained and IUCN Global Marine & Polar Programme odiversity and living resources they harbour. The world mitigated. GMPP is building a cross-sector coalition is at something of a crossroads and some unique op- A focus on three overarching priority areas of actors to reduce the amount of plastic entering the portunities now exist to work towards the introduction ocean, particularly by focusing on upstream solu- of legally-binding conservation measures, notably in the s its name suggests, the IUCN Global Marine tions. Against a background of rapid change in ocean the displacement of oil and gas infrastructure as well as high seas. Building on a 5-year programme of work, and Polar Programme (GMPP) serves as the temperatures, oxygen levels and acidity, GMPP is the rescheduling of potentially harmful seismic surveying IUCN continues to work towards better governance Union’s vehicle for guiding and implementing working with its network of experts to bring the very A to protect critically endangered whales in their summer of seamount systems in the Indian Ocean. Through a projects and activities related to oceans and polar latest science together in peer-reviewed knowledge feeding grounds. multi-partner scientific cruise, IUCN aims to improve regions, as well as applying global solutions that products so that decision makers are made aware of the knowledge of seamount systems and thereby guide ensure ocean health and sustainability. It does so in associated risks as well as the benefits of implement- governance decisions in favour of stronger protection close partnership with IUCN’s network of Regional Global Commons ing nature-based solutions. of these hotspots of biodiversity. Offices in addition to IUCN Commissions and Mem- bers organisations. The Polar Regions and the High Seas (areas beyond na- For more information, please contact James Oliver tional jurisdiction) form the focus of GMPP’s programme Global Threats ([email protected]). GMPP’s mandate has grown and evolved over the years of work on the Global Commons. These areas are sub- to address the emergence of new global threats and to ject to weak governance mechanisms that imperil the bi- New threats to ocean life are emerging and require adapt to the development of new approaches within the marine conservation sphere. It has therefore become nec- essary to streamline GMPP’s body of work according to three strategic priority areas: Global Coasts, Global Com- mons and Global Threats. This categorisation enables Global Coasts Global Commons Global Threats those outside the Programme to get a better understand- ing of GMPP’s body of work and for activities within each thematic priority to work more collaboratively and towards a single overarching goal. Global Coasts The Global Coasts Programme of IUCN brings together all of IUCN’s coastal activities across all regions under one umbrella. GMPP’s role within this IUCN-wide initiative is to coordinate the network, help develop concepts, design activity frameworks and provide on-the-ground technical support where needed. Current thematic priorities Current thematic priorities Current thematic priorities Coastal regions harbour many of the ocean’s richest • Coastal ecosystem resilience • Design a legally-binding Implementing Agreement for Threats and most productive ecosystems; they are also home • Research & capacity building of local practitioners conservation & sustainable use of marine biodiversity • Ocean warming, ocean acidification, marine plastics, to a wide array of human activities, many of which are • Protect EU Overseas territories beyond national jurisdiction for international ratification deep sea mining & marine invasive species • Enhance performance of marine-based industries in competition with each other and impact the environ- • Advocate a global, coherent, connected & representative • Foster a global network of marine protected areas system of marine protected areas Activities ment. Coastal ecosystems have borne the brunt of the • Promote sustainable aquaculture and fish feed solutions • Enhance the scientific knowledge of seamounts & ridge • Promote of nature-based solutions to the challenges of damaging effects of rapid development but also overfish- ecosystems in the Indian Ocean to stimulate improved climate change, disaster risk reduction & food security ing, destructive fishing practices and the consequences management of them •