Page 72 - restitution_book_MOW2023_EN

70 | STRENGTHENING OCEANOGRAPHY

Are tomorrow's conservation challenges inse- Ecological change is happening fast and on
parable and compatible with those of sustai- a massive scale. Are there any new scientific
nable development? concepts or tools that can be used to influence
Nature and biodiversity are under threat from the fate of ocean species and ecosystems?
changes in land and sea use, exploitation, climate Yes, there are! IUCN is a global standards body that
change and invasive species. Climate change is guides best practices and assessment tools. Exa-
an increasingly important factor in biodiversity loss mples include the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs),
and, according to forecasts by the United Nations the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration
Convention on Biological Diversity, it will become (STAR), plastic pollution assessments and tools,
the principal factor responsible for biodiversity loss the marine component of the IUCN Green List of
by the end of the century. Yet nature can provide Protected and Conserved Areas, the Red List of
up to 30% of the mitigation requirements under the Marine Ecosystems, the IUCN Global Standard for
Paris Agreement Nature-based Solutions, etc.

The Sustainable Development Goals provide a com- What do you think about the possibility of crea-
mon plan for all nations to address issues of global ting a blue list, as proposed at the Monaco
peace and prosperity and are certainly compatible Ocean Week panel discussion?
and inseparable from the conservation challenges It's great! The IUCN Green List of Protected and
we face today and in the future. As environmenta- Conserved Areas is endorsed by over 80 countries,
lists, we need to focus our attention and actions and the Global Biodiversity Framework apply to ma-
on Sustainable Development Goals 13, 14 and 15, rine ecosystems, and there are currently 50 marine
while remaining mindful of the others, because sus- sites on the Green List. A blue list could be based
tainability recognises the interconnectedness of our on the green list but would be better suited to the
natural and built environments. high seas, seascapes, and large marine protected
areas, with blue corridors to protect highly migrato-
ry species. The ocean is dynamic and needs dyna-
mic management models, especially as we consi-
der it a 3D or 4D space, so a blue list would be
constructive.