Coastal and marine ecosystems

Contribute to wetland restoration and conservation, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and reduction in ocean waste as well as pollution.

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The ocean covers 70 percent of the earth‘s surface and is crucial for all human life.1 It's home to over two million species, making it the most biodiverse ecosystem on earth.2 Also, the ocean is responsible for 50 percent of the Earth‘s oxygen from photosynthesis. And it provides temperature, weather and climate regulation – distributing heat by ocean currents and storing about 30 percent of CO2 emissions.3 The ocean also accounts for about 20 percent of worldwide animal protein consumption. And provides livelihoods for over three billion people, most of them living in developing countries.4

What to invest in now? We can support you to maximize your philanthropic impact in three areas:

  1. Wetland restoration and conservation 
  2. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
  3. Ocean pollution and waste

Plants in wetlands are highly productive and thus a major carbon sink, absorbing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. But, as air temperature raises, so does water temperature. This means fewer plants to trap gases, and oxygen is less likely to dissolve in water. This causes wetlands to release an increasing amount of CO2 – current loss rates are estimated at one billion tons per year. This is more than the combined annual emissions of UK, Italy and France together.

The warming temperature also leads to a decline in the reproduction of fishes that rely on oxygen, a decreased productivity of fish stock, ultimately resulting in a loss of sea food in supply chains.

This is also the reason for increased illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing which is hard to monitor and control.

Increased pollution carried into our waterways is another issue – think of pesticides for example – negatively affecting our water quality, reducing our freshwater and irrigation. So is waste that ends up in water – microplastics slow CO2 sequestration as well as harming wildlife, ultimately leading to biodiversity losses and threats to food supplies.

A philanthropic investment in wetland restoration and conservation – key takeaways

  • Coastal wetlands such as mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes remove carbon from the atmosphere and ocean and store it in soils and plants. The mitigation potential of coastal wetlands and oceans in the next 30 years is estimated between 1.07 –1.48 Gigatons of CO2.5
  • Coastal soils store most carbon. Water prevents release of carbon, and over time soil continually builds up and holds carbon for centuries. Mangroves can store up to 1,494 metric tons of CO2 per hectare, while salt marshes can store up to 951 metric tons and seagrass meadows up to 607 metric tons per hectare.6
  • Every year coastal wetlands sequester enough CO2 to offset the burning over one billion barrels of oil.7

    With one barrel of crude oil you can drive a mid-sized car 280 miles – just to put that into perspective.
     

Be strategic about your philanthropy

We can help you maximize your impact in the area of ocean and marine conservation by focusing on three strategic areas.

Protect healthy wetland ecosystems

  • Educate stakeholders on importance of coastal wetlands and protection measures
  • Develop integrated coastal management systems
  • Directly conserve wetland ecosystems
  • Improve land management practices
  • Develop sustainable incomes

Restore wetland ecosystems

  • Support the incorporation of coastal blue carbon into national mitigation strategies
  • Provide financial mechanisms and incentives for wetland restoration.
  • Develop and fund new protected areas

Better understand the risks and potentials related to blue carbon

  • Increase and improve research conducted on coastal blue carbon and wetland protection
  • Monitor changes and develop models for blue carbon ecosystems

A philanthropic investment in sustainable fisheries – key takeaways

Adaptation and resilient livelihoods for coastal communities depend on a sustainable approach to fisheries.

Description: 1 to 5 kg Carbon produced per kilo wild fish. 50 to 750 kg Carbon produced per kilo red meat.

  • Protects marine fauna

  • Fair remuneration for aquaculturists

  • Reduces waste

  • Equitable distribution of costs and benefits

  • Improves food security

  • Creation of wealth and employment

  • Generates jobs and is more responsible

  • Enhanced food security

  • Reduces pollution

  • Environmental management that benefits future generations

  • Certifies the sustainability of the catches

  • Sustainable growth of authorities and industry

Be strategic about your philanthropy

We can help you maximize your impact in the area of sustainable fisheries by focusing on three strategic areas.

Support adoption of sustainable practices

  • Diversify coastal livelihoods to reduce pressure on resources and introduce marketing innovations
  • Establish tenure right for small fisher(wo)man
  • Reduce post-harvest loss
  • Strengthen control mechanisms for aquatic environments of aquaculture 
  • Reduce use of fish feed and foster traditional aquacultures of non-fed species

Regulate commercial capture fisheries

  • Improve sanctioning of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing
  • Increase traceability of fishing production chains
  • End harmful forms of fishery subsidies
  • Introduce monitoring and management strategies that allow for reduced fishing when stock levels decline

Protect marine ecosystems and fishing grounds

  • Design temporary or permanent no take or multi-use zones
  • Include marine protection in climate adaptation and mitigation plans
  • Manage inland waters and their negative impacts on fisheries
  • Jointly develop multi-use MPAs and aquaculture areas

A philanthropic investment in ocean pollution and waste – key takeaways

Tackling pollution and waste upstream by reducing plastic consumption and production and addressing waste management can help to reduce biodiversity loss and enhance conservation as well as tackling climate mitigation. And reducing the inflow of plastics into the ocean will protect and conserve our valuable seascapes. Oceans play a fundamental role in mitigating climate change.

  • Biodiversity and conservation

    Plastic is travelling to the world oceans, where it takes centuries to break down8, becoming part of marine ecosystems affecting up to 700 species9. Marine wildlife become entangled in plastic, causing injury or death, and some animals eat plastic in place of actual food causing starvation.

  • Climate mitigation

    The seas absorb greenhouse gases and release oxygen. Proper waste management systems can help preserve ocean health and reduce an economy’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 10-15 percent.10

Be strategic about your philanthropy

We can help you maximize your impact in the area of ocean pollution and waste by focusing on three strategic areas.

Improve solid waste management systems

  • Educate stakeholders and population on impacts of inadequate waste management
  • Expand waste collection service to increase collection rates
  • Integrate informal waste pickers into formal waste management
  • Increase recycling capacity and rates globally, e.g. by encouraging separation of waste streams

Reduce plastic consumption and global waste trade

  • Raise awareness among and educate population on impacts of plastic waste
  • Advocate for introduction and enforcement of measures reducing single-use plastic consumption, e.g. bans or charges on single use plastic items
  • Advocate for less plastic items in consumer goods and retail industry
  • Advocate for export taxes on plastic waste

Improve wastewater management

  • Support development and implementation of better sanitation facilities
  • Support initiatives for development and implementation of stormwater and wastewater treatment technologies and management practices
  • Educate stakeholders on links between wastewater and health and ecosystem functioning and potential benefits of wastewater reuse

1-3 NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Ocean Service - US Department of Commerce: National Ocean Service (Ed.) (undated): Why should we care about the ocean? Retrieved from: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why-care-about-ocean.html. Last consulted: October 11, 2020.

4 The Ocean (2020). Ocean economy and developing countries. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/ocean/topics/developing-countries-and-the-ocean-economy/, Last consulted: October 26, 2020.

5 The Drawdown Project (2020). Coastal and Ocean Sinks. Retrieved from: https://drawdown.org/sectors/coastal-and-ocean-sinks. Last consulted: October 27, 2020.

6 The Blue Carbon Initiative (undated). Mitigating Climate Change through Coastal Ecosystem Management. Retrieved from: https://www.thebluecarboninitiative.org/about-blue-carbon. Last consulted: October 26, 2020.

7 The Nature Conservancy (undated). Mapping Ocean Wealth. Retrieved from: https://oceanwealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BlueCarbon_InfoGraph.png. Last consulted: October 25, 2020. 

8 National Geographic (undated). The world's plastic pollution crisis explained. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/plastic-pollution/. Last consulted: October 26, 2020.

9 Center for Biological Diversity (undated). Ocean Plastics Pollution: A Global Tragedy for Our Oceans and Sea Life. Retrieved from: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/. Last consulted: October 27, 2020.

10 Ocean Conservancy (2017). The next wave: Investment Strategies for Plastic Free Seas. Retrieved from:https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/the-next-wave.pdf . Last consulted: October 19, 2020.

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Review Code: IS2006523

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