Protecting the marine environment

This is the seventh meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP 7) to the CBD. The Convention was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It seeks a comprehensive approach to sustainable development through the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.

The CBD has been ratified by 187 countries including the UAE, which ratified it in February 2000 and identified the Federal Environmental Agency as the focal point.

Marine conservation and protected areas are central theme for CoP 7, where governments are expected to chart a course for protecting the marine environment over the next five years. The WWF points out that while oceans and coasts provide multimillion-dollar benefits to the world economy, only 0.5 percent of their surface is protected.

Oceans and coasts contribute to between 40 - 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product in Asia alone. Recent WWF reports put the value of coral reefs to the world economy at nearly $ 30 billion annually in goods and revenues, with the Great Barrier Reef itself generating $ 600 million.

The conservation organisation also stresses that the global marine fish catch is worth $ 70 - 80 billion annually, providing food to people all over the world, yet more than 75 percent of the world's fisheries are overfished, fished to their limit or recovering from overexploitation.

"Marine resources and habitats have never been as endangered as they are today," said Simon Cripps, Director of WWF's Endangered Seas Programme. "Governments continue to stall in using the Convention on Biodiversity to protect the marine environment, despite the fact that scientific information consistently shows that marine protected areas can generate economic benefits, jobs and revenues for fisheries, coastal communities and the environment."

A new WWF report, 'Financing Marine Conservation,' reveals 30 innovative financing mechanisms that could raise billions of dollars for marine conservation through contributions from various governmental programmes, donor agencies and industry sectors.

The report identifies various financing sources such as: money from fishing subsidies - estimated at up to US$ 20 billion - for marine protection rather than unsustainable fishing practices; direct allocations from government budgets; conservation fees from tourism, for example from diving and cruise ship activities; and fines paid by the ocean's polluters.

The WWF is urging governments to dramatically increasing the number and size of marine protected areas needed to meet a global target of 10 percent of the world's oceans by 2012, set in the CBD programme of work.

In the UAE, protection of marine biodiversity has been given importance. Biodiversity related legislation in the country is particularly strong on the marine environment, while there are protected areas such as Qarnein island, Abu Dhabi, declared a marine protected area by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

It is the first internationally recognised reserve of its type in the UAE. In February 2003, WWF International acknowledged Qarnein as a Gift to the Earth. In addition, Bu Tinah-Marawah, Abu Dhabi, an area of over 4250 sq km of corals and seagrass beds was declared protected by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Among other marine reserves are Al Faqit, Dhadnah and Aqqa, Fujairah, which were granted statutory protection to conserve valuable coral reefs.

The conservation of marine biodiversity is assigned high priority among programmes of the of WWF UAE. The Arabian Sea is one of two WWF Global 200 eco-regions represented in this country.

Global 200 are identified by the WWF as those areas harbouring most of the Earth's remaining biological diversity, and which must be preserved if we are to leave a living planet for future generations.