We have a golden opportunity to act on ocean sustainability

Our oceans are in peril. Climate change and overfishing are increasingly straining fisheries and marine ecosystems, putting biodiversity and the nutrition and livelihoods of billions at risk. The critical role that the ocean plays in moderating our climate is also threatened.  

This is particularly concerning given our dependence on enormous and diverse natural and economic ocean benefits. The ocean provides critical food and nutrition for billions of people around the world, many in our most climate-vulnerable places. The ocean is home to some of the world’s most valuable biodiversity. And the ocean plays a critical role in capturing and storing carbon, a role that will be even more critical in the coming decades as we work to stabilize the climate.  

The good news is that fishers, scientists and policymakers are more united now than ever around steps needed to protect our ocean and secure our blue future. Ambitious goals have been set, and evidence-based policies have been set forth. Just in the past few months, the United Nations COP15 biodiversity conference concluded with a pledge to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030. 

But commitments mean nothing without strong action. On the eve of the Our Ocean Conference in Panama, which kicks off Thursday, policymakers can herald a new era for ocean sustainability: one that confirms a path to aggressively implement agreed-upon solutions. Meaningful changes are within reach for people, nature and the climate. 

Here’s what we need to do: 

Commit to the ocean as a foundational part of the climate solution. The ocean must serve as a cornerstone of efforts to stabilize the climate. Blue carbon is captured through biological processes in ocean waters through aquatic animals and plants and stored in the sediments and plants of coastal and open ocean habitats including mangroves, salt marshes and seaweed. However, many of the ocean habitats that store blue carbon are also some of the most threatened ecosystems. The role of many fish species in these processes is also at risk. Once destroyed or impaired, natural storage processes can be reduced or even reversed, accelerating global climate change. 

As policymakers explore natural climate solutions to mitigate global climate change, we must drive forward practices that emphasize and enhance the ocean’s role in stabilizing our climate. My organization, the Environmental Defense Fund’s Blue Carbon Explainer highlights the important benefits of blue carbon in the climate solution, as well as best practices for protecting and enhancing this important climate role.  

Integrate efforts to protect ocean habitats with the critical needs of local communities to provide durable solutions for people, nature and the climate. Ambitious, high-level goals like the 30×30 commitment are critical to long-term success. At the same time, the most effective and durable protection will fully engage local communities already on the front lines of ocean stewardship. Combining strategies that sustainably meet local food, livelihood and resilience needs while also protecting significant ocean habitats will maximize benefits for both people and nature. Ensuring both high-level coordination and full participation by local communities will maximize uptake and durability and deliver both ecosystem and community benefits.   

Local communities are at the front lines of climate impacts and must be critical partners in ensuring long-term solutions. For example, the Observation, Prediction and Early Warning System (SAPO) bridges the access and data sharing gaps by providing a data platform for countries located along the Humboldt Current in South America to monitor changes in ocean temperature, extreme weather events, productivity changes and other climate challenges. Chile, Peru and Ecuador were instrumental in creating SAPO, and now Chile is the first large fishing nation to begin using it to manage its fisheries, protecting the interests of both people and ocean ecosystems.  

Vest local communities with the tools, authorities and capacities needed to lead ocean solutions. Some of the most sustainable fishing practices originate in traditional fishing communities, where fishers use time-honored knowledge and techniques to manage stocks and provide food for their families. However, these local communities often lack the capacity and tools needed to implement these practices on a larger scale. Often, fishers also struggle to maintain rights to fishing regions and the authority to implement proven management strategies.  

To address this challenge, The Small-Scale Fisheries Hub, a partnership among global environmental NGOs and fishing communities provides critical resources and connectivity to meet the needs of small-scale producers and their communities. The hub contains a range of multilingual resources, including hundreds of case studies from around the world that can be used to inform sustainable fishing policy worldwide.  

Policymakers can also implement fisheries strategies that protect fish and communities in the efface of climate-driven shifts. EDF’s Climate-Resilient Fisheries Toolkit provides resources for sustainable fishery management for any part of the seafood value chain, from individual fishers to government officials 

The United Nations designated 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) — and throughout the year, many groups stepped up to lead local and global action. In June, at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, small-scale fishers agreed on a call to action, with specific steps necessary to ensure their livelihoods. Then, in early September, over 100 participants, most of whom were small-scale fishers from 41 nations, gathered in Rome for the first Small-Scale Fisheries Summit. After the summit, their representatives took to the stage of the 35th Committee on Fisheries of the FAO and reiterated their message of commitment to action. Through this work, the small-scale fishing community has shown that they are already ready to lead this next phase from vision to implementation — for nature, the climate and their coastal communities. 

To reverse the adverse climate impacts on ocean ecosystems and global food supply and make the ocean a cornerstone of the climate solution, we must act now, and we must act together. This must be the decade of implementation. 

Eric Schwaab is senior vice president for the People and Nature Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund. He leads a global team of scientists, lawyers and advocates working to create thriving, resilient oceans. He brings more than two decades of experience driving complex conservation initiatives to scale.