Marine Conservation Climate Hope for Cancún

Distinguished Marine Conservation Scientists Offer Climate Hope for Cancún

03 Dec. 2010 | Miami, FL -- A scientist's statement calling attention to ocean's role in  climate change was released today. The Sant Feliu De Guíxols Ocean Carbon Declaration was drawn up during the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation, held in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain, on 26 September 2010. Signed by twenty-nine Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation and Advisors, from twelve countries, its release coincides with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16), currently ongoing in Cancún, Mexico.

The declaration draws attention to the role of the oceans in the planet’s carbon cycle and, in particular, their ability to store carbon and mitigate greenhouse gas pollution. The declaration highlights how certain coastal and marine ecosystems, such as mangrove and kelp forests, seagrass meadows and saltwater marshlands, naturally help absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Also highlighted, for the open oceans, is a promising potential role for large marine life, such as whales, sharks and finfish, as effective carbon sinks.

Policymakers are recommended to adopt the following initiatives:

1) Include coastal marine ecosystem conservation and restoration in strategies for climate change mitigation.

2) Fund targeted research to improve our understanding of the contribution of coastal and open ocean marine ecosystems to the carbon cycle and to the effective removal of carbon from the atmosphere.

-Steven Lutz, Blue Climate Solutions

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See also:

For the document click here - Declaration, or follow the link below.

Pew fellows add their voice on oceans’ critical importance in carbon cycle (bluecarbonportal)

http://bluecarbonportal.org/?p=417

Post revised Dec 9, 2010