High-Level Side-Event to be held by the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson, with the support of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs i
Marine ecosystems
[ SDG Target 14.2 ] By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.
Definition
Marine and coastal ecosystems provide many services to human society, including food and other goods, shoreline protection, water quality maintenance, waste treatment, support of tourism and other cultural benefits, and maintenance of the basic global life support systems.
The provision of these services is threatened by the worldwide degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems. Fisheries are in global decline. Coastal habitats have been modified and lost, and in many cases the rate of degradation is increasing. Habitat loss and modification result in a loss of ecosystem services and also threaten biodiversity (UNEP, 2006, p. 7).
