Despite the great importance of oceans for humans and nature, they are the least protected areas on earth. The international “Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative” (GOBI) wants to change this by identifying ocean areas that are of particular ecological significance and helping to protect them. The Federal Environment Ministry is supporting the initiative with 5.7 million Euros.
GOBI cooperates with environmental organisations, universities and marine conservation authorities around the world to pinpoint ocean regions that are especially in need of protection and to develop recommendations for their conservation. To this end, GOBI collects and analyses data on coastal and marine ecosystems, thereby making available an important knowledge base that is useful in activities such as designating and managing marine protected areas.
The initiative has already been instrumental in the identification of two hundred biologically and ecologically significant marine areas and their recognition by countries party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The next step is to develop specific conservation and management plans for these areas. This planning will encompass transnational rules for conservation.
As a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Germany and other countries have committed to maintaining biodiversity through international cooperation. One of the global objectives is to place at least ten percent of the world’s marine area under protection measures.
Funding from the Federal Environment Ministry’s International Climate Initiative is empowering GOBI to advance its work, which is crucial to worldwide marine conservation. Specific projects in progress include marine areas off the shores of Costa Rica, Honduras, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka.