NEW YORK, 28 November 2010 – SToday, the United Nations General Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) adopted a resolution on the "The Protection of Coral Reefs for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development" by consensus. An initiative by the Pacific countries, the resolution recognizes the critical importance of healthy marine ecosystems for the sustainable development prospects of millions around the world. Pacific island nations are highly dependent on healthy marine ecosystems for their food security, as well as their fishing and tourism industries.
This resolution is timely in light of the devastating coral bleaching events that are occurring throughout the Indian Ocean, Southeast Pacific and the Caribbean. Numerous marine biologists have predicted that this year will be the worst since the devastating bleaching events in 1998 in the Pacific and 2005 in the Caribbean, with the potential to being the most damaging ever recorded. It can take reefs years to recover; some never do.
The new resolution identifies waste run-off, over-fishing and coral mining among the human activities that can have negative impacts on corals, however ocean acidification and climate change present the largest threats. Coral bleaching is, along with sea-level rise, increasing sea surface temperature and higher storm intensity identified as the way through which ocean acidification and climate change threaten corals.
Ocean acidification is a byproduct of increased concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. As CO2 dissolves into water, makes the water more acidic. This can have a profoundly negative impact on many marine species. Corals in particular find it more difficult to build their calcium skeletons, which give structure to reefs and provide habitat for many other animals. The oceans have absorbed as much as one third of the CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Climate change is also having an increasing dangerous impact on coral reef systems, most importantly through the rise in sea surface temperatures. If the water gets too hot, it can cause many types of coral to eject the colorful photosynthetic algae within their tissues that provide it with food, resulting in "coral bleaching." If water temperatures do not return to normal quickly enough, the coral will starve. More extreme storms brought on by climate change can also destroy coral reefs.
There are several international initiatives and programs for the protection of coral reefs, however the resolution clearly indicates that more effort is needed. The Secretray-General will be releasing a report in 2011 on the importance of protecting coral reefs, including an analysis of the economic, social and development benefits of coral protection. With the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, only two years away, some countries hope that this report can be a basis for further action at the summit.
The full text of the resolution can be downloaded at www.un.org/en/documents. It is contained in document A/65/L.28*.