Conservation in the Marine Environment
By
admin on 10/4/2007 |
Keyword(s):
Marine;
Webpage |
 | Conservation in the Marine Environment. These pages will help you access global, country, state, regional and ecoregion-level information and resources related to marine conservation across the Nature Conservancy. |
|
Ocean and coastal habitats comprise nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface and contain the majority of the Earth's biodiversity. Although nearly 60% of essential life-sustaining goods and services are provided by them, oceans are among the least protected habitat types on the planet. While threats vary by habitat type, ecosystem and place, the primary threats to the marine environment at a global scale are: habitat loss from coastal development; unsustainable and destructive fishing; changes in water quality; and increases and water temperature, sea level rise and ocean acidity related to climate change. In addition, invasive species, energy development and aquaculture are increasingly pervasive in the marine environment. The conservation of coastal and marine habitats is urgent and crucial to the mission of The Nature Conservancy. Our goal is to protect and restore coastal and ocean habitats in ways that benefit marine life, local communities and economies.
The Nature Conservancy's Commitment: We will focus our marine conservation work on the effective conservation of tropical, temperate and polar bays, estuaries, nearshore and shelf Major Habitat Types in priority ecoregions and mitigate the major threats to marine ecosystems through working with partners to develop and effectively apply science-based strategies and policies.
The Nature Conservancy will meet our commitment by employing multiple, science-based strategies: As one of a suite of effective management tools, MPA networks protect and restore the most resilient examples of healthy ocean and coastal habitats in ways that benefit marine life, local communities and economies. Learn more. To address the threats of coastal development, pollution and destructive fishing practices, The Nature Conservancy applies collaborative, science-based methods to help return coastal habitats to healthy conditions for the benefit of people and nature. Learn more. The Conservancy works with partners to ensure that environmental interests have the same opportunity as economic interests to acquire ocean and coastal lands and resources. Learn more. Using a science-based approach, The Nature Conservancy works with partners to collect and share information about the status of and threats to marine biodiversity throughout a region, enabling the actions of each organization to be informed by the efforts of others. Learn more. Ecosystem Based Management (E-BM) is one approach to maintain healthy ecosystems that takes a variety of factors into consideration to address both the needs of nature and humans in specific areas. Learn more.
|  | Resources Ecoregional Assessments Case Studies Important Links Marine at Nature.org marine@tnc e-news Contact TNC's Global Marine Team Contact the Conservation by Design Gateway
|
|
Photo: Royalty-Free/CORBIS The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is an international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. Using the methods and tools of Conservation by Design, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 47 million hectares in Latin America, North America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org for more information. |
Conservation by Design Gateway