Nearly 40% of the world’s population live within 100 kilometres of the coast. Healthy coastal and marine ecosystems therefore play a central role for the lives of a large share of the global population, hereunder their nutrition, economic prosperity, well-being and resilience to climate change. At the same time, the large population pressure is a major driver of ecosystem destruction, undermining the very base for societal sustainability.

The Marine Environment Programme addresses a broad range of interlinked marine challenges, and supports developing countries in achieving their international commitments including the SDGs, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement. The programme focuses on the larger cross-cutting marine challenges, namely ecosystem functioning, integrated ocean management, nature based solutions, carbon storage in marine ecosystems and development of a sustainable blue economy. The activities are implemented across various governance levels, from local coastal communities to national and international fora.

The programme activities are carried out by an interdisciplinary team of marine experts with backgrounds in marine ecology, biology, geography, planning and policy. Our work includes capacity building for governments and national institutions, development of marine assessments, piloting new management approaches and communicating scientific information to policy-makers. The wider objective of the work is to strengthen the capacity of developing countries for obtaining and preserving a healthy marine environment.

Tags: Africa Asia biodiversity climate change coastal ecosystems conservation development environment and health forests green economy natural resources oceans Small Island Developing States soil water