资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Seven marine conservation projects from around the world have each received grants of US$80,000 from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partner, the International Coral Reef Initiative.

The funding is designed to help restore and preserve seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and coral reefs. UNEP received more than 430 grant proposals from 93 countries, ultimately choosing winners from the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

“We selected projects based on their innovation in terms of using new conservation, restoration and sustainability approaches for three key marine habitats: mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs,” said Gabriel Grimsditch, UNEP Programme Management Officer.

Those three ecosystems support a myriad of sea life, store carbon dioxide, and protect communities from storm surges and flooding. However, they are under siege from climate change, irresponsible coastal development and pollution, which experts say threatens life above and below water.

The Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2020 report published by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and supported by UNEP found that 14 per cent of the world’s corals have disappeared in the last decade.

The report highlights that whilst coral reefs cover only 0.2 per cent of the seafloor, they support at least 25 per cent of marine species and underpin the safety, coastal protection, well being, food and economic security of hundreds of millions of people.

These grants are made possible through funding from the United States of America’s Department of State, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.