Latest news with #Kunming-MontrealGlobalBiodiversityFramework
Business Recorder
01-08-2025
- General
- Business Recorder
Sindh govt urged to declare new ‘marine protected areas'
KARACHI: The WWF-Pakistan has urged the Sindh government to declare new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the province's coast to safeguard fragile marine ecosystems and biodiversity, particularly in the ecologically important regions of Pitiani and Dabbo Creeks in the Indus Delta. The call came as part of the organization's statement ahead of World Marine Protected Areas Day, marked globally on August 1. Recognizing recent conservation progress, WWF-Pakistan lauded the government of Balochistan for its declaration of Miani Hor as the country's third MPA on July 29. The site joins Astola Island and Churna Island, declared MPAs in 2017 and 2024 respectively. These efforts, WWF-Pakistan noted, mark the beginning of a new chapter for marine conservation in Pakistan, achieved through sustained collaboration between government bodies, conservation groups, wildlife experts, and coastal communities. The establishment of MPAs is considered critical for meeting international biodiversity goals under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to which Pakistan is a signatory. The framework commits countries to protecting 30 percent of global oceans by 2030—a target known as '30 by 30.' WWF-Pakistan's Director General Hammad Naqi Khan emphasized that the country's coastal and marine ecosystems are under increasing pressure from overfishing, destructive fishing gear, untreated sewage, plastic pollution, and the broader effects of climate change. He stressed the need for both federal and Sindh governments to take decisive steps to declare additional MPAs and protect vulnerable marine areas. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
The Hindu
31-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
State Biodiversity Board to propagate awareness on local biodiversities and traditional knowledge
Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) is set to launch a campaign across schools to cultivate awareness among students about the richness of local biodiversity and the value of traditional ecological knowledge. Students will be introduced to local traditional knowledge related to food, medicine, agriculture and fishing through events organised under the aegis of Biodiversity Clubs in schools. The initiative will also facilitate the documentation of local biodiversity and traditional ecological practices. Each participating club will host a two-day exhibition showcasing local biodiversity and traditional knowledge. This will include live demonstrations and displays of indigenous food systems, traditional healing practices, age-old farming techniques and sustainable fishing methods. The programmes are also intended to provide a grassroots learning experience for students, who will get to interact with experienced tribal elders, local farmers and traditional fishermen. An expert talk on biodiversity will kickstart the event in each school. According to KSBB member secretary V. Balakrishnan, the initiative aligns with the global targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), specifically Targets 1, 5 and 21, which focus on ecosystem preservation, species protection and the recognition of indigenous knowledge systems. The programme is also in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 13, 14 and 15, addressing climate action, marine conservation and terrestrial ecosystem protection. 'Traditional practices, be it in food systems, medicine, farming or fishing, hold immense potential for future research and conservation. It is crucial that students learn and understand this heritage before it fades away,' he said. The programme is open exclusively to registered Biodiversity Clubs in schools, which have a minimum of one year's active experience in biodiversity-related activities. Selected projects will receive financial assistance of ₹10,000 as an advance.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Offshore wind in the Mediterranean: renewables can, and must, protect biodiversity – here's how
The oceans – engines of life on Earth and our single greatest climate regulator – are caught in a catch 22. We urgently need to decarbonise our economy, which means rolling out renewable energy on a massive scale, including offshore sources such as fixed and floating wind farms. However, we also have to protect the seas – the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has called for protecting at least 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. These apparently contradictory goals pose a critical question: can we transition away from fossil fuels without compromising our oceans' already weakened levels of biodiversity? Renewable energy is key to mitigating climate change by enabling the reduction of fossil fuel emissions. Marine energy sources are playing an increasingly important role – wind dominates, though wave and tidal energy also have great potential. The European Union (EU) has made offshore wind a pillar of its decarbonisation strategy. The European Green Deal and the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy predict a dramatic expansion of this technology: from 29 gigawatts (GW) in 2019 to 300GW in 2050. This tenfold growth in just three decades is essential to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, while also boosting innovation, employment and energy security in Europe. The race for clean energy exists alongside another global emergency: the biodiversity crisis. Human activities have already altered 66% of the ocean surface, compromising its ecosystems. The loss of marine species and habitats is accelerated by destruction of natural environments, pollution, overexploitation and the impacts of climate change. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is a landmark agreement that aims to tackle this issue. One of its targets is known as '30x30': a commitment to protecting at least 30% of marine areas by 2030. This is an ambitious target, given that currently less than 10% of the ocean is formally protected. Leer más: The creation of marine protected areas is crucial to safeguarding not just biodiversity, but also the vital ecosystem services that the ocean provides: climate regulation, food supply and carbon sequestration. Protecting biodiverse and carbon-rich ecosystems – such as Posidonia oceanica meadows and undisturbed marine sediments – offers mutually reinforcing benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation by absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Nature-based solutions like these are some of the most immediately available ways to simultaneously address both crises. The massive deployment of offshore renewables causes environmental impacts and conflicts that often clash head-on with efforts to conserve biodiversity. The Mediterranean Sea, with over 17,000 species (28% of them endemic), is one of the world's most vulnerable and fragmented seas. It is already under immense pressure from pollution, overfishing, tourism and maritime traffic, and the addition of thousands of energy infrastructures in such a sensitive area would only intensify these problems, as it would effectively industrialise many coastal and marine areas. The conflict is mainly caused by competition for space: areas of high energy potential (wind or waves) often overlap with areas of high ecological value. In addition, there are the more direct impacts on marine fauna (noise, collisions, vibrations) and the alteration or destruction of marine habitats. There are still significant unknowns about the true impact of macro-projects on ecosystems. Their cumulative and long-term effects on crucial areas – such as atmospheric and oceanic currents and ocean productivity – are largely unknown or insufficiently studied. In the face of such uncertainty, prudence dictates that we apply the precautionary principle. As things stand, there are no permanent wind installations in the Mediterranean, just one pilot project in France with three turbines and several other projects still at the planning stages. In a sea that is already at its limit, new pressures are raising serious doubts about the compatibility of climate and biodiversity objectives, and this means careful planning is essential. Leer más: The good news is that decarbonising our economy and protecting the oceans are not inherently incompatible – in fact, they are mutually reinforcing goals. The key lies in careful planning of marine space. The key tool in achieving this is maritime spatial planning (MSP). This process organises the uses of the sea (energy, fisheries and aquaculture, transport, tourism, conservation) to identify areas of high ecological value to be protected, and areas suitable for energy development. By doing this, it minimises conflicts, and offers a roadmap for integrated and multifunctional management of the seas. The end goal is a net positive impact, so that renewable energy projects not only minimise damage, but also contribute to the improvement of ecosystems. This is achieved through effective mitigation of negative impacts, compensation and ecological restoration. Collaboration and dialogue between governments, industry, fisheries, scientists and conservationists is vital. Consideration of local communities – the fishing and tourism sectors, as well as coastal residents – is key to a just and equitable energy transition. Working together is the only way to find innovative solutions that balance renewable energy with the protection of biodiversity and ocean ecosystem services. The climate crisis and biodiversity loss are two sides of the same coin and addressing either in isolation would be a mistake. The decarbonisation of our economy and the protection of marine biodiversity must not only coexist, they must reinforce one another. It is therefore crucial that the expansion of marine renewables is done with a holistic and proactive vision, prioritising ecosystem health and integrating nature-based solutions from the outset. We can, and must, harness the ocean's immense energy potential without compromising its health and the wellbeing of local communities. The future requires a symbiosis between technological innovation and research into local ecological and socio-economic impacts. Integrating climate change mitigation with biodiversity conservation is the key to creating sustainable marine energy. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: The climate and biodiversity crises are entwined, but we risk pitting one against the other Earth is trapping much more heat than climate models forecast – and the rate has doubled in 20 years What Danish climate migration drama, Families Like Ours, gets wrong about rising sea levels Josep Lloret is a scientific researcher at the CSIC. This article was written under the BIOPAÍS project, financed by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, as part of the national Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience, with the support of NextGenerationEU funds. Paul Wawrzynkowski no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.
The Star
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Brunei forest, reef conservation needs shared responsibility: Minister
Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Manaf Metussin at the Brunei Conference on Forest to Reef in Bandar Seri Begawan. - BB BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Protecting Brunei forests and reefs is not the task for the government alone but a shared mission that requires every one of us to act now, said a Brunei government minister on Tuesday (June 17). This reinforces Brunei's commitment under the National Biodiversity Policy and Strategic Plan of Action 2024-2030, which aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, said the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Manaf Metussin at the Brunei Conference on Forest to Reef held in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. Sudono Salim, chief growth officer and co-founder of Jejakin, a carbon footprint management platform, as a guest speaker, lauded Brunei for its clean air and said the blue carbon ecosystem, which is naturally captured and stored by coastal ecosystems such as mangrove, helps in climate change mitigation. The conference focuses on promoting blue and green economic growth, including eco-tourism and carbon markets, while enhancing capacity building, education, and professional networks in biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and disaster risk reduction. It also supports integrating international best practices and new economic opportunities into national forest-to-reef strategies. - Xinhua
Observer
14-06-2025
- Science
- Observer
Oman contributes to global whale migration atlas
In a landmark step for marine conservation, Oman has contributed to a major new global initiative to map and safeguard the migratory 'superhighways' of whales. The Blue Corridors platform ( launched this week by WWF and an international coalition of scientists and conservation groups, digitally charts decades of whale tracking data to drive action on ocean protection worldwide. Oman's unique satellite tracking data -gathered through the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and marine research group Future Seas and supported by the Environment Authority is now part of this global dataset; helping to illuminate how whales travel through the region's waters and beyond. 'We've contributed Oman's dataset to this collaborative effort,' Suaad al Harthi from the Environment Society of Oman confirmed, 'offering insights that will support international efforts to protect whales from rising threats such as ship strikes, fishing gear entanglement, underwater noise and climate change'. For the first time, brings together three decades of global tracking data, integrating it with maps of overlapping marine risks to create a dynamic tool for governments, scientists and policymakers. The initiative highlights the movement of whales through the territorial waters of multiple countries and underscores the urgency of international collaboration, especially as seven of the world's 14 great whale species remain endangered or vulnerable despite decades of conservation efforts. 'Oman's contribution is a vital part of this global effort,' said Dr Andrew Willson of Future Seas Oman, one of the contributing researchers. 'By understanding where whales travel, and where they face the greatest risks, we can work together on more informed conservation plans to protect them —not just in Oman's waters, but across the migratory routes that connect the dots between important habitats used by the whales for breeding and feeding.' Launched ahead of World Oceans Day (8 June) and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, the project also advances global goals to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 — part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the UN Decade of Ocean Science. The Blue Corridors platform is publicly accessible and will evolve with further peer-reviewed science and collaborative input through 2025. 'Blue corridors are more than migration routes — they're lifelines for the ocean's giants and the ecosystems they support,' said Chris Johnson, Global Lead for WWF's Protecting Whales and Dolphins Initiative. 'This platform transforms decades of science into a tool for action — showing when, where and how to protect whales in a rapidly changing ocean.' The project builds on the Protecting Blue Corridors report (2022), now enhanced with open-access visualisations from more than 50 contributing research groups. The platform also highlights hotspots where solutions -such as marine protected areas or revised shipping routes- can make the greatest difference. As the oceans warm and human activities intensify, tools like this offer hope for species whose survival depends on protecting migratory pathways. And Oman's role in this collaborative atlas underscores the country's growing contribution to marine science and conservation on a global scale. Najah al Riyami The writer is a Media and Communication Master's graduate.
