Gaviria and Harris | Trouble lurks beneath the surface of ocean conservation

The ocean is our greatest natural resource. It provides half the planet’s oxygen, helps to feed half the world’s people, and, as the world’s largest carbon sink, is one of our best defences against climate change. But it is under attack like never before.

Sea surface temperatures are hotter than ever, which is killing marine life and fuelling stronger hurricanes. Many big-fish populations have been decimated. Half of all coral reefs – which serve as essential habitats for marine life and as vital coastal defences – have been destroyed. This sustained degradation of the ocean is threatening human life around the world. Stopping it is essential, and the good news is that a framework for doing so is already in place.

Two years ago, the world adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which set a target of protecting and conserving at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. Then, at the COP16 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, last month, representatives from governments around the world took stock of the progress made so far. What stood out is that the host country is an example both of what is possible and of how much work remains to be done.

Over the past decade, Colombia has emerged as a global leader in conservation, and for good reason. Colombia is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, and, as one of only two South American countries with Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, its future is inextricably linked to the bodies of water that surround it. In 2022, the government announced that it had protected 30 per cent of its ocean area, making Colombia the first country in the Western Hemisphere to do so – and prompting other Latin American countries to follow its lead.

A new report commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies through the Bloomberg Ocean Fund, and developed in partnership with other major marine-conservation organisations, shows that Latin America is now leading the way on global marine protection. Around 26 per cent of the maritime area surrounding Latin America and the Caribbean is now under some form of marine conservation protection – higher than any other region in the world.

But this statistic only reflects the coverage of official marine protected areas. It does not tell us what is going on underwater. There, unfortunately, the data are much less promising. Only 2.5 per cent of the region’s ocean, and a mere 1.5 per cent of Colombia’s maritime area, appears to be getting the level of protection necessary to conserve marine life.

The picture is even bleaker in the rest of the world. The United Kingdom, for example, designates 47 per cent of its domestic waters (excluding Overseas Territories) as marine protected areas, but less than one per cent have been assessed as effectively protected. Japan, meanwhile, has designated 7.3 per cent of its domestic waters as marine protected areas, with zero per cent assessed as effectively protected.

The ocean can continue protecting and feeding the world only if governments deliver on their commitments to protect it. Recognising the need for an urgent change in course, the Bloomberg Ocean Fund report lays out a series of crucial next steps to help governments effectively protect 30 per cent of their ocean areas by 2030. But, as Mike Bloomberg likes to say: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Increased data collection is therefore essential. With more actionable information at their disposal, countries can better track their progress, and key stakeholders – not least local coastal communities – can participate more fully in conservation efforts. For that, we need to get tools that have proven invaluable for fostering transparency and accountability, such as SkyTruth’s 30x30 Progress Tracker, into more people’s hands.

The report also urges wealthy countries to deliver on their promises. In 2022, Global North governments committed to increase funding for developing countries to at least US$20 billion per year by 2025, and to US$30 billion by 2030. However, little of this funding has been delivered. While the recently announced US$163 million in new pledges from donor countries is welcome, such sums are a drop in the bucket. Far more funding is desperately needed to support conservation efforts across Latin America and other regions, especially in the Global South. And it should go without saying that promised financing should be delivered in a timely fashion.

With the COP16 negotiations now paused until a later date, the stakes for getting this right couldn’t be higher. Billions of lives depend on urgent global action to protect the ocean. It is imperative that more countries move aggressively to adopt ambitious pledges – and the concrete policies and practices needed to fulfil them.

César Gaviria, a former president of Colombia, is a board member of Oceana. Patti Harris is CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies.© Project Syndicate 2024www.project-syndicate.org