By Nneka Nwogwugwu
As its way of supporting and accelerating the global ocean protection movement, the United Kingdom (UK) has pledged to invest £150 million in a new global program tagged ‘COAST’.
UK government said the announcement was made at the just-concluded Ocean Conference in Lisbon.
It said the fund is part of the £500 million Blue Planet Fund, launched at the G7 Leaders Summit in 2021.
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It added that the fund will be used to support developing countries and vulnerable coastal communities around the world adapt to climate change and build “sustainable, prosperous coastal economies.
COAST is an acronym to protect and restore valuable coastal and marine habitats such as Corals, mangroves, and seagrasses, improve the sustainability and productivity of small-scale fisheries, and help developing countries unlock aquaculture’s potential.
Up to £100 million of Blue Planet funding will also be used to support the implementation, management, and enforcement of Marine Protected Areas, which are created to limit potentially damaging activity at sea and support the recovery of key habitats and marine species, and other effective conservation measures in developing countries.
Canada and the US, have also this week launched a world-first global alliance to tackle illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing which poses a threat to ocean ecosystems, coastal communities, and global fish stocks by undermining fisheries management and distorting trade.
