An international network that includes 45 countries has launched the Coral Reef Breakthrough, planning to raise at least $12 billion in public and private finance this decade to stop the drivers of coral reef loss and accelerate restoration.
The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), whose members represent over three-quarters of reefs globally, launched the new breakthrough programme on Tuesday in partnership with the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) and the High-Level Climate Champions (HLCC).
If successful, the new initiative will play a vital role in establishing marine climate resilience and boosting ocean biodiversity.
“Coral reefs are more than just beautiful; they are our lifelines. They are essential to the security and resilience of many nations, especially those in low-lying island states,” said H. E. Razan Al Mubarak, UN climate change high-level champion for COP 28.
“These are nations staring down the barrel of climate change. The Coral Reef Breakthrough is an initiative for the world, for the hundreds of millions who depend on these coastal communities.”
The Coral Reef Breakthrough was launched around four action points, the first of which is to stop the drivers of coral reef loss, including reducing land-based sources of pollution, destructive coastal development, and overfishing.
Second, it intends to double the area of coral reefs globally that are under effective protection and align efforts with the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 target.
Further, it plans to assist the development and implementation of innovative solutions at scale and climate-smart designs to impact 30% of degraded reefs by 2030.
In order to achieve the first three targets, the Coral Reef Breakthrough will seek to secure $12 bln in funding.
“To help deliver on Breakthrough targets, GFCR will scale capital support and private investment for reef-positive solutions, including sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, ecotourism, marine plastic recycling, mooring systems, wastewater treatment, natural fertilisers, and coral reef restoration,” said Pierre Bardoux, director of GFCR.
“Efforts such as these represent innovative finance pathways unlocking greater resources to meet the goals of the Coral Reef Breakthrough.”
More than 30 leading coral reef experts have developed the foundations of the Breakthrough, with financial support from the Swedish government and the Principality of Monaco.
“This ensures that the ambitious targets were grounded in science, actionable, measurable, and reflect the urgency to address the coral crisis,” said Francis Staub, ICRI global coordinator.
It is estimated that coral reefs provide ecosystem services worth some $9.9 trillion each year, supporting the lives of over 1 billion people worldwide.
“They [are] essential to the security, resilience, and climate adaptation of many of the most climate-vulnerable nations on Earth, yet the functional existence of these critical ecosystems is at stake due to the climate crisis and other anthropogenic stressors. The window for protecting these ecosystems is closing rapidly,” ICRI said in the statement.
By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com
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