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VIRTUAL DIALOGUE & POLICY BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS - Ocean of Solutions: Protecting biodiversity in the blue economy
The Pacific Ocean – a rich source of biodiversity - spans a third of the planet. It is also the provider of food and buoys millions of livelihoods. Its ability to absorb our atmosphere’s carbon makes the ocean indispensable in our fight against global warming.
Yet, unprecedented economic and population growth is posing a serious threat to the ocean’s natural balance. Industrial fishing and plastic pollution have led to the erosion of marine ecosystems, exacerbating the threat of biodiversity loss. Meanwhile, deep-sea mining firms are pushing for a change in sea laws that will allow them to mine for metals and minerals that they argue will fulfil the demands of the energy transition.
As the planet’s ocean suffers from the ‘domino effect’ of a degraded marine ecosystem resiliency, stakeholders are resisting irresponsible industrial activities that have substantially altered marine food chains.
Several solutions have been proposed to protect the biodiversity of oceans. Strengthening regional ocean governance in Asia Pacific could be key to uniting the efforts of marine life conservation. This includes expanding the coverage of Marine Protected Areas, introducing transparent regulations, implementing more sustainable fishing practice, and affording time to scientists to understand the impact of deep-sea mining.
Where are the pain points in the ongoing efforts? What more needs to be done to propel progress?
This dialogue discusses the challenges we face in protecting the Asia’s ocean biodiversity, and the opportunities that natural climate solutions may offer. Highlights from a policy brief on this topic will be shared during the session.
Our distinguished panel of speakers:
- Maggie Lee, Lead, Plastic Program at Verra
- Sari Tolvanen, Chief Executive Officer at Ocean Eye, Inc
- Regula Schegg, Managing Director, Asia at Circulate Capital
The session will be moderated by Junice Yeo, Executive Director of Eco-Business, along with our Research & Consulting Lead, Ili Rahan.
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This event is organized in partnership with the Regional Project Energy Security and Climate Change Asia-Pacific of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).
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