The Coral Reef Breakthrough aims to secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs with investments of at least US$12 billion to support the resilience of more than half a billion people globally by 2030. Coral reefs support 25% of all marine species and deliver $9.9 trillion a year to local economies. Achieving this Breakthrough will help reverse downward trajectory that has driven a 14% decline in the world’s reefs since 2009 and strengthen the resilience of over half a billion people globally. This Breakthrough was developed in collaboration with the UN Climate Change High-level Champions (HLCC), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR).
MARINE
CONSERVATION
Sector Leads: Conservation International, IUCN
2030 target: By 2030, investments of at least USD 72 billion secure the integrity of ocean ecosystems by protecting, restoring, and conserving at least 30% of the ocean for the benefit of people, climate, and nature.
Secure the integrity of ocean ecosystems for a healthy climate and planet by investing at least $72 billion to protect, restore and conserve 30% of the ocean by 2030.
Scaling up action to protect ocean ecosystems will deliver huge benefits to people and nature. Ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses and saltmarshes, have a natural capacity for carbon storage and sequestration. Along with coral reefs, they also act as natural buffers against coastal erosion and extreme weather and are vital for economies, local biodiversity and food security. Investing in the Marine Conservation Breakthrough will have an outsized impact on multiple Sustainable Development Goals and be a positive tipping point towards a healthier climate and planet for all humanity.
Meeting the 30 x 30 marine conservation target will protect the ocean so that it can continue fulfilling its natural role of capturing and storing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than all the world’s forests combined. Accelerating the protection, conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems will contribute directly to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and help the world achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Marine Conservation Breakthrough includes several ecosystem-focused targets, including:
Coral Reef Breakthrough
Coral Reef Breakthrough
Mangrove Breakthrough
Mangrove Breakthrough
The Mangrove Breakthrough aims to restore and protect 150,000 km2 of mangroves by securing $4 billion of investments in these vital coastal habitats by 2030. Achieving this Breakthrough will halt mangrove loss, restore half of all recent mangrove losses, and double the protection of mangroves globally. This will deliver huge climate benefits by sequestering over 43.5 million tons of CO2 into mangrove biomass, and safeguarding or sequestering an additional 189 million tons of CO2 in the soil, as well as reducing flood risk for over 15 million people and $65 billion worth of property annually.
Context
Marine conservation is a key sector to advance and scale-up ocean-based climate action. The protection, conservation and/or restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems, especially of blue carbon ecosystems (i.e. mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes) can contribute to achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. In addition to their natural capacity for carbon storage and sequestration, they hold great potential to deliver numerous co-benefits for people and nature. Marine ecosystems, especially mangroves and coral reefs, are essential to food security, and are natural buffers against coastal erosion and the impacts of extreme weather events.
Protecting, conserving and restoring these ecosystems is essential to support long-term resilience and adaptation of coastal communities. But those ecosystems are deeply threatened by climate-induced changes in the ocean, including ocean acidification, deoxygenation, heat waves, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. Additionally, pollution, degradation and destruction caused by or related to human activities are also threatening coastal and marine ecosystems, decreasing their capacity to contribute to mitigation and adaptation goals.
Breakthrough Targets
Investing at least $72 billion by 2030 to protect, restore, and conserve at least 30% of the ocean¹ including:
Coral Reef Breakthrough
Secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs with investments of at least US$12 billion to support the resilience of more than half a billion people globally by 2030.
Saltmarsh Breakthrough
Secure the future of at least 125,000 km2 of shallow-water tropical coral reefs with investments of at least US$12 billion to support the resilience of more than half a billion people globally by 2030.
Seagrass Breakthrough
Protect and restore over 16 million hectares of seagrass by 2030, with a target investment of USD 12 billion.
Mangrove Breakthrough
$4 billion to restore and protect 150,000 km2, which will restore half of degraded ecosystems, double protection, and halt loss.
Seaweed Breakthrough
The Seaweed Breakthrough aims to secure investments of at least $17.5 billion USD by 2030 to conserve, protect and restore seaweed habitats, in support of resilient and equitable livelihoods.
¹ United Nations Environment Programme (2022). State of Finance for Nature. Time to act: Doubling investment by 2025 and eliminating nature-negative finance flows. Nairobi. https:// wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/41333 URL : https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/41333/state_finance_nature.pdf?sequence=3
Impacts
Conserving 30% of the global ocean in MPAs could:
- Create 1 million jobs
- Sustain fish catch worth $70–80 billion/year
- Provide ecosystem services with a gross value of roughly $4.5–6.7 trillion/year
- Contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Paris Agreement
Coral Reef Breakthrough impacts include:
- Over $18 billion in tourism revenues annually
- Preservation of important fishing grounds and spawning aggregations for commercially important fisheries
- Safeguarding $5.5 billion of coastal economic value through shoreline protection
- Securing the future of reefs identified as climate refugia offers hope for long-term recovery and resilience in the face of climate threats.
Mangrove Breakthrough impacts include:
- Sequestering over 43.5 million tons of CO2 into mangrove biomass and safeguarding or sequestering an additional 189 million tons of CO2 in the soil
- Benefitting 37 commercial marine species of fish, crabs, bivalves and shrimp by providing habitat for over 25 billion juveniles each year
- Providing coastal protection against flooding and storms for over 15 million people and over $65 billion worth of property annually
- Delivering a high rate of return on the $4 billion raised under the Breakthrough by supporting ecosystem services worth up to $700 billion
Saltmarsh Breakthrough impacts include:
- Supporting the integration of saltmarshes into climate, biodiversity and coastal resilience policies across 50 countries.
- Strengthening coastal resilience through natural flood defence, shoreline stabilisation and adaptation to sea-level rise.
- Protecting one of the world's most important blue carbon ecosystems, which currently stores an estimated 5.3 billion tonnes of CO₂e in the top metre of soil alone.
- Supporting fisheries, local livelihoods and coastal economies through the recovery of healthy estuarine ecosystems.
Seagrass Breakthrough impacts include:
Coming soon
Seaweed Breakthrough impacts include:
Coming soon
