{"id":30105,"date":"2017-07-26T21:38:13","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T21:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=30105"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:51:13","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:51:13","slug":"on-international-day-un-spotlights-threatened-coastal-mangrove-ecosystems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/07\/on-international-day-un-spotlights-threatened-coastal-mangrove-ecosystems\/","title":{"rendered":"On International Day, UN spotlights threatened coastal mangrove ecosystems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Coastal mangroves are among the most imperiled ecosystems on earth, with current estimates indicating that up to 67 per cent have been lost to date, according to the 91ÇÑ×Ó science wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stakes are high, because\u00a0mangrove ecosystems<\/a>\u00a0provide benefits and services that are essential for life,\u201d said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO<\/a>) in a message on the\u00a0International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom advancing food security, sustaining fisheries and forest products and offering protection from storms, tsunamis and sea level rise to preventing shoreline erosion, regulating coastal water quality and providing habitats for endangered marine species \u2013 the list is long on the importance of mangrove ecosystems,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

UNESCO shined a spotlight their unique role in sequestering and storing significant amounts of coastal blue carbon from the atmosphere and ocean \u2013 crucial for mitigating climate change.<\/p>\n

While healthy mangrove ecosystems are vital, Ms. Bokova pointed out that \u201cnearly all unprotected mangroves could perish over the next 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through its ‘Man and the Biosphere Programme,’ its International Hydrological Programme, its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Programme, UNESCO is drawing on all of its strengths to protect mangrove ecosystems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis action reaches across the world, from the Bosque de Paz transboundary biosphere reserve in Ecuador and Peru, and the Delta de Saloum Biosphere Reserve in Senegal to the Langkawi UNESCO Global Geopark in Malaysia,\u201d the Director-General elaborated.<\/p>\n

UNESCO is deeply engaged in supporting the conversation of mangroves, while advancing the sustainable development of local communities who interact closely with mangroves and depend on their goods and services.<\/p>\n

She underscored that UNESCO is also leading an active role in the\u00a0Blue Carbon Initiative<\/a>\u00a0to mitigate climate change through the conservation, protection, restoration and sustainable use of coastal and marine ecosystems, focusing on mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must do far more and this calls for stronger science,\u201d she exhorted.<\/p>\n

To this end, UNESCO is working to broaden the capacities of States and reinforce their scientific knowledge, especially in countries that are highly dependent on these ecosystems in Africa and small islands development States, always working with local communities, always drawing on indigenous knowledge.<\/p>\n

This Day provides \u201cthe moment for everyone to redouble their commitment to the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Agreement,\u201d said Ms. Bokova.<\/p>\n

\u201cUNESCO’s message today is clear \u2013 we must reverse the trend of degradation and protect the mangroves that are so essential to the health of the planet,\u201d concluded the Director-General.<\/p>\n

The International Day, commemorated annually on 26 July, aims to raise awareness of the valuable services provided by mangrove ecosystems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Via UN News Centre<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coastal mangroves are among the most imperiled ecosystems on earth, with current estimates indicating that up to 67 per cent have been lost to date, according to the 91ÇÑ×Ó science wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23,4],"tags":[7069,2736,6648],"class_list":["post-30105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-below-water","category-life-on-land","category-news","tag-coastal-mangrove","tag-global-goals","tag-life-below-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30105\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}