The emergency plan for the resilience of the coral reefs of the UNESCO World Heritage (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was presented on April 14, 2022 in Palau, an island state located in Oceania. The plan, which is limited to UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs, includes two sites in Africa.
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
The emergency plan for the resilience of the coral reefs of the UNESCO World Heritage (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was presented on April 14, 2022 in Palau, an island state located in Oceania. The plan, which is limited to UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs, includes two sites in Africa.
The warming of ocean temperatures, due to global CO2 emissions, is the primary threat to coral reefs. It reduces the life expectancy of corals, through early bleaching. « This year, for the first time, massive coral bleaching has even occurred during a traditionally cooler period, known as La Niña. According to the current scenario of emissions, all the world heritage reefs may disappear by the end of the century, » explains Audrey Azoulay, the Director General of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
A study presented on the side-lines of the 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change explains that coral reefs live and thrive at temperatures between 25 ° C and 40 ° C, and if the temperature exceeds this limit, the reefs bleach and eventually die.
In response to the negative impact of global warming on reef ecosystems, UNESCO’s Director General took the opportunity of the seventh edition of the international summit « Our Ocean », held from 13 to 14 April 2022 in Palau (an island state located in Oceania) to launch the emergency plan for the resilience of the coral reefs of the UNESCO World Heritage. The plan, implemented in partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), a public-private fund led by the United Nations, will invest in climate resilience strategies. Actions will focus on reducing local drivers of degradation, sustainable management of marine protected areas and support for local communities.
There are 29 World Heritage sites with coral reefs, including 19 sites in developing countries and two sites in Africa (iSimangaliso Wetland Park in eastern South Africa, and Mukkawar Island in Sudan).
The impact of human activities
The degradation of reef ecosystems is not only caused by global warming. Human activities also have a negative impact on the development of coral reefs. On the African side of the Red Sea, for example, illegal and destructive fishing methods, unsustainable coastal and land-based developments that cause encroachment and pollution in coral reef areas, as well as tourism overcapacity, contribute to coral reef degradation.
Faced with this situation, that projects similar to the emergency plan for the resilience of coral reefs of the Unesco World Heritage are also launched in other African countries. During the 7th edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held from 28 to 30 August 2019, Japan has committed to funding projects to protect reef ecosystems in countries benefiting from the new agreement on the Blue Growth Initiative: Kenya, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles.
Fanta Mabo
The French Global Environment Facility (FGEF) will allocate nearly €2.6 million to fund community-based marine and coastal ecosystem resilience projects in six West African countries. The announcement was made at the 10th West African Coastal and Marine Regional Forum, 29 March to 1 April 2022 in Saly Portudal, western Senegal.
Tropical countries, such as those in West Africa, are particularly vulnerable to the degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems. Researchers have shown that about 80% of the economies of these countries are based on the coastal strip, where the population is growing, especially in large deep-water ports. This infrastructure makes these areas particularly vulnerable to depletion of fisheries resources, pollution, flooding and coastal erosion. In Cotonou, Benin, for example, the retreat of the coastline can reach up to ten metres per year in some urban areas.
The French Global Environment Facility (FGEF) has been contributing financially to efforts to combat the degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems in West Africa for 25 years. The FGEF finances innovative pilot projects for the preservation of the environment and the sustainable development of local populations. 2.6 million over the next five years, to finance no less than 40 marine and coastal ecosystem and community resilience projects. « We expect solutions to improve coastal defence, against coastal erosion, changes in the coastline that affect people, their habitats and their activities, » says Stéphanie Bouzigues Eschamann, the FGEF’s Secretary General.
Funding coordinated by the PRCM
The FGEF’s new funding for West Africa’s marine and coastal ecosystems is materialised by a funding agreement signed on 29 March 2022 with the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (PRCM). The signing ceremony of this agreement took place on the sidelines of the opening of the 10th Regional Coastal and Marine Forum of West African Coastal Countries, from 29 March to 1 April 2022 in Saly Portudal, western Senegal.
« We want concrete solutions to be put in place on the ground, and beyond that, for the actors to exchange with each other. The PRCM is there to coordinate all of this and to capitalise on the solutions that will be implemented concretely in the field in order to disseminate good practices, » adds the FGEF Secretary General. This funding will benefit Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
The PRCM is the organising body of the Regional Coastal and Marine Forum of West African Coastal Countries. It is a platform that brings together around 90 partners, all of whom are committed to preserving the sea and the coastline. These include civil society organisations, government institutions and sub-regional commissions, elected representatives, professional organisations, researchers and teachers, and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations). Its missions include supporting, through its network of partners, the coordination of the different interventions active at regional, national and local levels, and playing a role of political advocacy to strengthen the processes of conservation and integrated management of the coastal zone.
Fanta Mabo
WEST AFRICA: FGEF allocates €2.6m for the protection of coastal ecosystems
The French Global Environment Facility (FGEF) will allocate nearly €2.6 million to fund community-based marine and coastal ecosystem resilience projects in six West African countries. The announcement was made at the 10th West African Coastal and Marine Regional Forum, 29 March to 1 April 2022 in Saly Portudal, western Senegal.