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STRENGTHENING OCEANOGRAPHY | 69

Razan Al Mubarak
President of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), elected
UN High-Level Champion for Climate
Change at COP28

During your training, you wrote a thesis on a ma- Are there any ocean areas identified by the
rine region in the United Arab Emirates. Has this IUCN as priorities for conservation?
given you a better understanding of the specific The IUCN is fighting against the loss of biodiversity
challenges of ocean conservation? in the high seas, coastal seas, and deep seabed.
As part of my Master's in Public Understanding of Every part of the ocean is important, but there are
Environmental Change at University College Lon- biodiversity hotspots as well as important ecologi-
don, I studied traditional fishing rights, particularly cally productive areas such as currents that provide
in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. It was the the nutrients needed to maintain ocean food webs.
start of a long journey of discovery for me, particu-
larly in terms of the importance of traditional ecolo- In the wake of the High Seas Treaty, IUCN's prio-
gical knowledge. Indigenous voices are essential to rity is to take action to conserve marine biodiversity
climate and conservation action and decision-ma- beyond national jurisdiction. How do we do it? By
king, as they are often on the front line in respon- helping the entry into the force of the Treaty. As the
ding to the consequences of climate change be- world's oldest and largest environmental network,
cause of their dependence on and relationship with IUCN is well-placed to play an important role in
nature and its resources. the effective and equitable implementation of this
agreement.
“The ocean is dynamic and needs However, the greatest loss of marine biodiversity
dynamic management models, especially concerns coral reefs, one of the most diverse ha-
as we consider it a 3D or 4D space”. bitats in the world. It is estimated that 60% of reefs
are threatened by a combination of ocean warming,
acidification and other human-induced effects, a
figure that could rise to 100% over the next few de-
cades if no immediate action is taken to curb the
phenomenon.