08 Jun
2006 - Gland, Switzerland – The world’s oceans
are under greater pressure than ever before. More
than three-quarters of the world’s fish stocks
are fished to their maximum capacity, recovering
from collapse or over-fished. Important habitats
are being lost and damaged. If present rates of
destruction continue, 60 per cent of the world's
coral reefs will be destroyed within the next
30 years.
Less than one per cent of the
world’s oceans are designated as protected, compared
to almost 13 per cent of our planet’s land area.
Of the small number of Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs) that have been established, the vast majority
are poorly managed, with many open to oil and
gas exploration and 90 per cent open to fishing.
Well-designed networks of MPAs
are vital for ensuring healthy, productive marine
environments that can support well planned development.
MPAs, such as marine reserves and locally managed
marine areas, provide income and nutrition for
local communities, direct and indirect revenue
for national economies, and safe havens for fish
and other marine life.
“In addition to providing a
basis for natural resource management, MPAs are
an essential sustainable development tool that
benefit people, their cultures and their economies,”
said Dr Simon Cripps, Director of WWF’s Global
Marine Programme. “They can improve fish catches,
resulting in increased food security and revenues.”
World leaders have recognized
that our oceans need urgent protection. At the
World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002,
they agreed to create ecologically representative
MPA networks by 2012.
“If governments are serious
about establishing well-managed networks of MPAs,
then there should have been a massive increase
in the number of MPAs set up since 2002,” added
Dr Cripps. “Sadly, this has not yet happened.
It’s time to get moving.”
This World Ocean Day, Fiji has
been presented with the Global Ocean Conservation
Award in recognition of its leadership in marine
conservation. In 2005, the Fijian government,
backed by WWF, committed to establishing a network
of MPAs covering 30 per cent of its waters by
2020 — one of the largest areas of protected ocean
in the world. This commitment was only possible
through the partnership that the government formed
with local communities and the Fiji Locally Managed
Marine Areas (FLMMA) Network.
The award will be presented
on in Washington,DC, US, to the Paramount Chief
of the Fiji Islands province of Macuata, Ratu
Aisea Katonivere, and Fiji's Ambassador to the
US, Jesoni Vitukawalu, who will receive it on
behalf of Fiji’s Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase.
END NOTES:
• World Ocean Day is held annually on 8 June in
honour of our planet’s most diverse and threatened
ecosystem. Created in 1992 at the Earth Summit
in Rio de Janeiro, it is hoped that the annual
day will help raise awareness of the threats to
ocean life. The Global Ocean Conservation Award
is given on World Ocean Day in recognition of
an individual who has made outstanding contributions
to global marine conservation.
