海洋：教科文组织启动紧急计划，保护珊瑚礁世界遗产 - 海洋遗产保护组织

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海洋：教科文组织启动紧急计划，保护珊瑚礁世界遗产

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(English version below)

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所有列入世界遗产名录的珊瑚礁都面临同样的危险：它们可能在本世纪末消失。“我们的海洋”会议在帕劳举行，联合国教科文组织总干事阿祖莱于会上宣布一项紧急计划，为珊瑚礁的生存争取机会，全球珊瑚礁基金为该计划提供支持。她还呼吁国际社会动员起来，以防止珊瑚礁灭绝。

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Jayne Jenkins / Ocean Image Bank

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列入教科文组织世界遗产名录的珊瑚礁总面积超过50万平方公里，相当于法国国土大小，这里有着突出的生物多样性；同时它们在吸收碳排放和保护海岸线免受风暴和侵蚀影响方面发挥着关键作用；它们的健康与一百多个土著社区的生存息息相关。此外，它们还是气候变化对全球珊瑚礁影响的参照点。

然而，关于这些珊瑚礁的科学数据反映出非常令人担忧的现状。它们的白化速度比以前的专家估计要快得多。这些“漂白”过的珊瑚极易受到饥饿和疾病的影响，并且其死亡率越来越高。即便在传统上较冷的拉尼娜时期，今年也首次发生了大规模的珊瑚白化。若按照目前的排放状况持续到本世纪末，届时所有列入世界遗产名录的珊瑚礁都可能消失。

减轻当地压力，为珊瑚礁争取生存机会

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由二氧化碳排放导致的海洋升温是全球珊瑚礁面临的最大威胁。政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）的最新数据证实，各国必须大幅减少碳排放，方能实现2015年签署的《巴黎协定》承诺的目标。但大多数珊瑚礁还面临着各种当地压力，例如污染、过度捕捞、栖息地破坏。教科文组织正在调动其资源及合作伙伴，以减轻此类压力，在急遽变化的环境中为珊瑚礁提供最佳生存机会。

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在‘我们的海洋’会议于帕劳召开之际，我呼吁国际社会动员起来防止珊瑚礁灭绝，并宣布教科文组织的强力参与：一项旨在提高列入世界遗产名录的珊瑚礁——特别是发展中国家珊瑚礁——复原力的紧急计划。教科文组织正在与全球珊瑚礁基金合作，为这一计划提供资金。

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——阿祖莱 Audrey Azoulay，联合国教科文组织总干事

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教科文组织与全球珊瑚礁基金之间的合作伙伴关系将加大对发展中国家世界遗产珊瑚礁的气候变化应对能力战略的投资，后者是联合国领导的公私合作基金。这些行动将侧重于减少威胁珊瑚礁的当地因素、加强海洋保护区的可持续管理和支持当地社区。全球共有29处列入世界遗产名录的珊瑚礁，该伙伴关系将探索协作机会，优先支持其中位于发展中国家的19处。

教科文组织强韧珊瑚礁倡议的成功

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这项新的大型计划将以教科文组织及其合作伙伴在2018年的上届“我们的海洋”峰会上发起的“强韧珊瑚礁”倡议为基础。在过去4年中，他们在澳大利亚、伯利兹、法国（新喀里多尼亚）、帕劳的4处世界遗产珊瑚礁试验点开展了相关工作。强韧珊瑚礁倡议表明，积极干预措施能够减缓当地压力，提升当地社区权能有助于他们在不断变化的世界里保持收入和生计。

例如，在帕劳的罗克群岛南潟湖，强韧珊瑚礁倡议对当地看护员和社区开展最新科技和技能培训，内容包括渔业管理、环境适应性、复原力提升等。启用捕捞许可证制度以控制准入，实施渔获大小限制以提升产卵量，保护栖息地以确保物种延续，这些举措都将为鱼类资源回升创造条件。

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在澳大利亚的宁加洛海岸，强韧珊瑚礁倡议正在开发促进珊瑚繁殖的解决方案。当珊瑚因白化等原因死亡时，碎片会脱落并堆积在珊瑚礁上，形成一种“碎石”，阻碍新的珊瑚生长。为了使受精卵在礁石上生长和繁殖，其表面必须干净且坚硬。该计划测试的解决方案是在珊瑚礁上安装用钢筋制成的小型星形结构，使受精卵能够附着并生长。这些“星星”的制作交由当地土著人完成，从而为他们创造了就业机会。

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强韧珊瑚礁倡议将持续至2024年，总计募集资金1000万美元。

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珊瑚礁是联合国“海洋十年”的重心之一

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从这项提高世界遗产珊瑚礁复原力的新计划，到利用水质监测来保护坦桑尼亚的珊瑚礁，再到借助纳米技术使加勒比海的珊瑚礁更具活力，珊瑚礁保护和恢复是教科文组织认可的“联合国海洋科学促进可持续发展十年”（2021-2030年“海洋十年”）的关键行动之一。

联合国海洋十年在教科文组织的协调下于2021年启动，汇集了科学家、海洋管理者、土著民族和当地社区，以及公共和私人投资方，共同设计保护和复兴世界各地珊瑚礁生态系统的解决方案。

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关于联合国教科文组织

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联合国教科文组织是联合国系统内负责海洋科学的机构。它协调相关全球项目，如海洋测绘、海啸风险预防、海洋生物圈保护区，以及众多科学研究项目和海洋知识普及。教科文组织牵头“联合国海洋科学促进可持续发展国际十年（2021-2030年）”行动。今年，该十年的主要活动是重大国际峰会，包括“我们的海洋”会议（帕劳，4月13-14日）。

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关于全球珊瑚礁基金

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全球珊瑚礁基金（GFCR）由联合国、保罗·艾伦家族基金会和摩纳哥阿尔贝二世亲王基金会在国际珊瑚礁倡议（ICRI）的支持下于 2020 年发起，其目标是到2030年筹集6.25亿美元资金。

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Ocean: UNESCO launches emergency plan to boost World Heritage-listed reefs resilience

All World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century. On the occasion of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, announces an emergency plan to give them the best chance of survival, with the support of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs. She also calls for an international mobilization to prevent coral reef extinction.

UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs cover over half a million km2 worldwide – the equivalent of the size of France – exhibiting exceptional biodiversity. They play a critical role in absorbing carbon emissions and protect coastlines from storms and erosion. Over a hundred indigenous communities are directly dependent on them for their subsistence. Moreover, they serve as reference points on the impacts of climate change affecting reefs everywhere.

But the scientific data concerning these coral reefs is now very alarming. Reefs are bleaching far more rapidly than the initial science suggested. These ‘bleached’ corals are highly vulnerable to starvation and disease and have an increasingly high mortality rate. This year, for the first time, mass coral bleaching also occurred in a traditionally cooler, La Niña period. Under the current emissions scenario, all World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century.

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Reducing local pressures to give reefs the best chance of survival

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Warming ocean temperatures, due to global CO2 emissions, are the biggest threat to coral reefs globally. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data confirms that States must drastically reduce carbon emissions to meet the targets under the Paris Agreement concluded in 2015. But most coral reefs also face a mix of local pressures, such as pollution, overfishing, or habitat destruction. UNESCO is mobilizing its resources and its partners to reduce local pressures and give coral reefs their best chance of survival in this rapidly changing environment.

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On the occasion of the Our Ocean Conference in Palau, I call for an international mobilization to prevent coral reef extinction and announce a strong contribution from UNESCO: an emergency plan to boost the resilience of World Heritage-listed reefs, in particular those in developing countries. UNESCO is partnering with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs to help finance this commitment.

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—— Audrey Azoulay，UNESCO Director-General

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The partnership between UNESCO and the UN-led private/public Global Fund for Coral Reefs will step up investment for climate resilience strategies across World Heritage-listed reefs in developing countries. The actions will focus on reducing local drivers of degradation, strengthening the sustainable management of marine protected areas and supporting local communities. The partnership will explore joint opportunities for prioritization of support to the 19* out of 29 World Heritage-listed reefs are located in developing countries.

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The success of UNESCO’s Resilient Reefs Initiative

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This new large-scale plan will build on the successful Resilient Reefs Initiative launched by UNESCO and partners at the previous Our Ocean Summit in 2018. For the past four years, they have worked on 4 World Heritage reef pilot sites in Australia, Belize, France (New Caledonia) and Palau. The Resilient Reefs Initiative demonstrates that local pressures can be reduced through active intervention and that empowering local communities helps them to adapt their income and livelihoods to the changing realities.

For example, in the Southern Lagoon of the Rock Islands (Palau), the Resilient Reefs Initiative trains local rangers and communities in the latest science and skills in fisheries management, adaptation and resilience. The design of a fishing permit system to control access, the implementation of fish size limits to increase spawning biomass, and the protection of habitats ensuring the life history of species will all help to create the conditions in which fish stocks can rebound.

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On Australia’s Ningaloo Coast, the Resilient Reefs Initiative is developing solutions to facilitate coral reproduction. When coral dies because of an event such as bleaching, bits break off and accumulate on the reef, creating a type of ‘rubble’ which prevents new coral from growing. For fertilized eggs to settle and reproduce on a reef, the surface must be clean and hard. The solution, tested as part of the initiative, is to fit small star-shaped structures made of steel bars onto the reef which allow fertilized eggs to settle and grow. The ‘stars’ are built by local indigenous people, thus creating local employment.

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The Resilient Reefs Initiative continues until 2024, with a total of USD$ 10 million mobilized.

Reefs at the heart of the UN Ocean Decade 2021-2030

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From this new plan to boost World Heritage-listed reef resilience, to using water quality monitoring to protect coral reefs in Tanzania, to deploying nanotechnology to make reefs more resilient in the Caribbean, reef conservation and recovery are among key actions endorsed by UNESCO as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030 (The “Ocean Decade”).

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Launched in 2021 under UNESCO’s coordination, the United Nations Ocean Decade brings together scientists, ocean managers, indigenous and local communities, and public and private investment to co-design solutions for conserving and revitalizing reef ecosystems around the world.

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About UNESCO

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UNESCO is the UN agency in charge of ocean sciences. It coordinates global programs such as ocean mapping, tsunami risk prevention, biosphere marine reserves, as well as numerous scientific research projects and ocean literacy. UNESCO leads the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, from 2021 to 2030. This year, the Decade is reflected in the organization of major international summits, including Our Ocean Conference (Palau, 13-14 April).

About Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR)

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The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) was launched in 2020 by the United Nations, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, with the support of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). It aims to mobilize USD$ 625 million by 2030.