Communities of Ocean Action

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth. They support fisheries, and an estimated one billion people have some dependence on coral reefs for food and income from fishing and tourism. They also protect shorelines and create land by dissipating wave energy and continue to be a potential source of new medicines. Coral reefs are estimated to provide goods and services valued to be close to US$30 billion per year. Yet coral reefs are threatened by a combination of impacts that include ocean warming and acidification, as well as local pollution, overfishing and sedimentation.

Over 90 voluntary commitments relate to coral reefs, including activities aimed at their protection, management and restoration, as well as maintaining tangible benefits to coastal communities from coral reef fisheries and tourism. The commitments cover both local and global initiatives.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their coral reef-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Addressing the anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems, such as marine pollution, overexploitation of marine living resources, coastal degradation, climate change and ocean acidification, and their impacts requires effective cross-sectoral coordination and extensive cooperation among States at global, regional and bilateral levels, including through intergovernmental organizations. International law, as reflected in UNCLOS, provides the strongest basis for such cooperation, and its effective implementation is thus critical to the sustainable development of oceans and their resources.

More than 270 commitments relate to some aspects of implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, either as a standalone topic or as part of a diverse array of ocean management activities.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their voluntary commitments related to implementation of international law as reflected in UNCLOS, human rights, gender and social justice by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Mangroves are highly productive ecosystems providing numerous goods and services that include support of fisheries, maintenance and improvement of water quality, coastal protection and carbon sequestration. Mangroves have been estimated to provide at least US$1.6 billion per year in ecosystem services worldwide. Approximately 67% of global mangroves have been lost in the past century to coastal development, aquaculture, pollution and other human activities.

The importance of mangroves is reflected in more than 90 voluntary commitments that relate to the restoration, rehabilitation, protection and management of mangroves and associated ecosystems. These voluntary commitments reflect the vital role that mangroves play in supporting livelihoods of coastal communities, sustainable fisheries, resilience to the impacts of climate change and sequestering atmospheric CO2.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their mangrove-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Diverse area-based measures and management tools can be used to sustainably manage, protect, conserve and restore marine ecosystems, including for example the application of ecosystem approaches, marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management and the establishment of marine protected areas, consistent with international law and based on best available scientific information, including representative networks. The main purpose of these measures is to sustainably manage, protect, conserve and restore coastal and marine areas and resources, including underwater cultural heritage, while also supporting economically valuable activities and having important social impacts. The global extent of MPAs has grown steadily and in 2014 covered approximately 3.4% (12.3 million km2) of the global ocean, with decreasing numbers of MPAs at greater distances from the shoreline. Area-based management is seen as one of the key tools for delivering SDG 14 and for providing for both ocean conservation and a variety of sustainable uses, while alleviating conflicts between users of ocean space.

More than 130 voluntary commitments relate to marine protected areas, and over 30 commitments include marine spatial planning. Large marine ecosystems (LMEs) feature in 20 commitments, while at least five include community-based marine management. Many of these commitments include increasing the area protected or sustainably managed.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their area-based management-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Marine pollution from human activities can be found at all points across the ocean’s vast expanse, whether in the deep, at the surface, or in the organisms that live in it. Land-based sources (such as agricultural run-off, discharge of nutrients, pesticides and untreated sewage including plastics) account for approximately 80% of marine pollution globally, and include sewage and wastewater, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, oils, nutrients, sediments and marine debris (or marine litter). Plastics typically constitute the most important part of marine debris, sometimes accounting for up to 100 % of floating litter, and impacting economies, ecosystems, animal welfare and human health worldwide. Nutrient over-enrichment is considered to be the main causes of so-called “dead zones”, hypoxic regions that exhibit oxygen levels that are too low to support many aquatic organisms, including commercially desirable species, and resulting in the collapse of some ecosystems.

Over 540 voluntary commitments relate to the reduction of marine pollution, demonstrating the importance of this activity. Most commonly, they aim to reduce marine pollution from plastics through bans on plastic products, recycling and coastal cleanups. Commitments relating to nutrient management and controlling other sources of pollution were also common.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their marine pollution-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Ocean acidity has increased by roughly 26% since pre-industrial times because of increased releases of CO2 due to the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. Ocean acidification is detrimental to many marine species, such as corals and other species with calcium carbonate skeletons or shells, with impacts on their physiology and long-term fitness. These impacts, in combination with increases in upper-ocean temperature, stratification and de-oxygenation of sub-surface waters can affect processes fundamental to the overall structure and functioning of marine ecosystems with far-reaching consequences and potentially profound socio-economic impacts. The potential for marine organisms to adapt to increasing CO2 and the broader implications for ocean ecosystems are not well known and require further research.

Approximately 250 voluntary commitments relate to ocean acidification, either as their main component, or as part of a broader range of management and conservation actions. Specific activities include scientific research and research collaborations, building resilience against impacts of ocean acidification, and activities related to mitigation and carbon sequestration.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their ocean acidification-related voluntary commitments by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Sustainable management and conservation of the ocean requires a solid and trusted knowledge base upon which decisions are based. Promoting science-based solutions and their systematic transformation into informed policies underpin the successful attainment of SDG 14. Marine science plays an important role in the fisheries management process, including for the adoption of conservation and management measures. Science also has an important role to play in managing other human pressures on the marine environment, including cumulative impacts from local pressures such as marine pollution, coastal development and resources extraction that act together with global impacts of climate change. Traditional knowledge, based on generations of close interaction with the ocean environment, can provide a similarly important foundation for stewardship. Education and public awareness are important priorities for producing an informed and engaged population and for raising the next generation of ocean citizens. Technology can support the achievement of SDG 14, for example, by helping to deliver more efficient and sustainable fishing methods, enhance monitoring and surveillance of fishing activities, facilitate pollution prevention and clean-up, and enhance marine spatial planning.

Over 540 voluntary commitments relate to increasing scientific knowledge, capacity-building and technology transfer They included activities related to scientific research, developing capacity for research, training and professional development, access to data and transfer of marine technologies. At least six commitments will rely to some degree on traditional knowledge in their implementation. Education and awareness raising were part of approximately 200 commitments.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their voluntary commitments related to scientific knowledge, the development of research capacity, the use of traditional knowledge, the transfer of marine technology, education and public awareness by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

The oceans are central to sustainable development globally, and particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and coastal Least Developed Countries (LDCs). They provide a wide array of social and economic benefits to LDCs and SIDS, including from small-scale, artisanal fisheries, while also being tightly linked to their culture. Small-scale artisanal fishers are a fundamental part of SIDS and coastal LDC societies, but they can also be found in developed and other developing countries. Estimates suggest that workers involved in small-scale fisheries comprise over 90 percent of people employed globally in capture fisheries and related activities, and produce approximately half of the global catch. An ocean-based blue economy can include diverse components, from established ocean industries, such as fisheries, tourism and maritime transport, to emerging and new activities, such as offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, deep seabed extractive activities (where sustainable), and marine biotechnology. The mix of activities will depend on each country’s unique national circumstances, but will go beyond business as usual by providing social and economic benefits for current and future generations; restoring, protecting and maintaining the diversity, productivity, resilience, core functions, and intrinsic value of marine ecosystems; and being based on clean technologies, renewable energy, and circular material flows.

Over 330 voluntary commitments relate to some aspects of sustainable ocean-based economic development, with the development of a comprehensive blue economy the aim of close to fifty commitments, and the related concept of blue growth included in over twenty commitments. Sustainable tourism, aquaculture, shipping, fisheries and renewable energy were common components of these commitments. Market access for small-scale fishers was also covered by voluntary commitments.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their voluntary commitments related to sustainable ocean based economies by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.

Marine fisheries are a key source of economic and food security, providing livelihoods for the 300 million people involved in the sector, and helping meet the nutritional needs of the 3 billion people who rely on fish as an important source of animal protein, essential micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids. Estimates suggest that small-scale fishers and related workers comprise over 90 percent of people employed globally in capture fisheries and related activities. Poor fisheries management results in declines in fish stocks, bycatch species and ecosystem effects, as well as in foregone revenues of roughly US$80 billion annually, highlighting the importance of improving the sustainability of this sector.

Sustainable management of fisheries was one of the most common activities registered in the voluntary commitments. More than 480 commitments touch on fisheries either as a single goal or as part of a suite of activities aimed at improving environmental sustainability, livelihoods and economies. These activities include commitments to sustainable seafood, to implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement and Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, strengthening of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), and community empowerment and market access for small-scale fishers.

This Community of Ocean Action aims to support its members in implementing their voluntary commitments related to sustainable fisheries by exchanging progress reports, experiences, lessons learned and good practices.