Biodiversity is lieBiodiversity is our lie
Marine and Coastal Biodiversity
Oceans cover 70% o our planet and represent over 95% o the biosphere. Marine and coastalhabitats include coral rees, mangrove orests, sea grass beds, estuaries, hydrothermal vents,seamounts and sot sediments on the ocean oor deep below the surace.More than just a valuable source o ood, the ocean is one o the largest natural reservoirs o carbon. It stores about over 15 times more CO
2
than the terrestrial biosphere and soils, andplays a signifcant role in climate moderation.Deep-seabed habitats host between 500,000 and 10 million species. Deep-sea lie is essentialto lie on Earth because o its crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles, including nutrientregeneration and oxygen. This tremendous wealth o biodiversity and ecosystem services is not infnite. Today, humanactivities are greatly threatening the seas and coasts through overfshing, destructive fshingpractices, pollution and waste disposal, agricultural runo, invasive alien species, and habitatdestruction. Global climate change will make it worse. Sea levels will rise, water temperature willincrease, oceans will acidiy, and there will be more storms and natural disasters.Oceans are seriously under-protected, with only about 0.8% o the oceans and 6% o territorialseas being in protected areas.Countries that adopted the Convention on Biological Diversity are addressing variouschallenges to the conservation and sustainable use o marine and coastal biodiversity. Throughthe ecosystem approach, they ocus on the proper management o seas and coasts, coralrees and deep sea biodiversity, protected areas, mariculture and invasive alien species.www.cbd.int/marine
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