• Ocean

U.S. Joins Global Effort to Advance Ocean Protected Areas

• #30x30
• #WorldOceanDay
• biodiversity
• blue carbon
• climate change
• marine protected areas
• MPAs

The U.S. has joined the U.K., Chile, Costa Rica, and France in a coalition aiming to increase the amount of ocean area under legal protection as a solution to mitigate climate change.  Together these five countries last week launched the International Partnership on Marine Protected Areas, Biodiversity and Climate Change.

Why This Matters:  Tomorrow is World Ocean Day.  Special Envoy Kerry put it quite well when he has said, in essence, there are no ocean solutions without climate solutions and no climate solutions without ocean solutions.

• People

Earth Week Interview With Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, the CEO of the Global Environment Facility

• #30x30
• #BlueNatureAlliance
• #ConservationInternational
• Global Environment Facility
• marine protected areas
• ocean conservation

It’s Earth Week and we caught up with Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, who became the CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) last year, to talk about his plans for the GEF and a new partnership they are launching today.

• People

Interview of the Week: Aulani Wilhelm of Conservation International

• #ConservationInternational
• fisheries
• marine protected areas
• ocean
• sustainable development
• traditional knowledge

This week, as part of our special Earth Month series of interviews, we sat down with Aulani Wilhelm, the Senior Vice President for Oceans at Conservation International (CI). 

• Ocean

New Report Provides Roadmap for Fully Protected Oceans 

• #30x30
• Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary
• conservation
• Great Barrier Reef
• marine protected areas
• National Marine Sanctuary
• ocean

Each year, the ocean removes almost a third of all global CO2 emissions. But as the ocean warms, it’s becoming less effective as a carbon sink and could release billions of tons of carbon back into the atmosphere.  A new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center provides some guidance on effective ocean protections and highlights six successfully protected ocean sites to serve as role models.

Why This Matters:  Recently, with the support of 450 elected officials, President Biden signed an executive order to protect 30% of all U.S. land and waters by 2030.

• Ocean

Best of 2020: The Creation of Tristan da Cunha MPA

• #30x30
• Blue Belt Programme
• marine protected areas
• National Geographic
• Pristine Seas

On Friday, the government of Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago in the South Atlantic, announced that it is creating the fourth-largest marine “no-take” reserve in the world. 

Why This Matters:  As National Geographic states, while 8% of the world’s ocean territory is protected at some level, commercial fishing is banned in only 2.6%.

• Ocean

Another Notch on the U.K.’s Blue Belt- Tristan da Cunha’s Marine Protection

• #30x30
• Blue Belt Programme
• marine protected areas
• National Geographic
• Pristine Seas

On Friday, the government of Tristan da Cunha, a four-island archipelago in the South Atlantic, announced that it is creating the fourth-largest marine “no-take” reserve in the world. 

Why This Matters:  As National Geographic states, while 8% of the world’s ocean territory is protected at some level, commercial fishing is banned in only 2.6%.