World Ocean Month 2022
The Territorial Seas: A critical part of the ocean
The term “territorial seas” refers to coastal ocean waters within the jurisdiction of a coastal nation. Extending up to 12 nautical miles from shore, these coastal waters make up only ~6% of the sea—yet are home to most of the ocean’s biodiversity. They are also where high biodiversity meets high human use. Nearly 500 million people depend on small-scale fisheries, most of which are found within these areas. As the world works to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, Rare is focusing its efforts on prioritizing the right 30 percent by pairing effective protection of territorial seas with their sustainable use.
OPINION: Protecting the right 30% of our ocean
Today only 11% of Marine Protected Areas are inside territorial waters. Most are established offshore, far from the biodiversity-rich territorial seas
Rare at the UN Ocean Conference
The 2022 U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal is one of the key international platforms during the 2022 International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA). Rare and our partners will be there to increase ambition, actions, and support for the 30×30 campaign, community-led solutions, and blue carbon initiatives. Here are some of our events:
- The Case for Territorial Seas Towards Achieving 30×30
Tuesday, June 28 at 1:00 – 2:15 PM; Auditorium II at PT Meeting Center, Lisbon, Portugal
A high-level event diving into what is needed to protect and sustainably manage the world’s territorial seas and achieve global biodiversity goals and 30×30 commitments. - Leading by Doing: Latest large-scale actions and new announcements on ocean conservation to achieve 2030 goals
Monday, June 27 at 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM; UNOC Venue, Altice Conference Center
The event will explore mangrove, coastal ecosystem and ocean conservation approaches needed to achieve global goals. - Blue Carbon: Charting the path for governance and partnerships
Thursday, June 30 at 1:30 – 2:45 PM; UNOC Venue, Altice Conference Center
The International Partnership for Blue Carbon together with the Australian Government, and other IPBC Members, will explore partnerships to drive credible and evidence-based action to protect, restore and sustainably manage coastal blue carbon ecosystems. - Location Location Location: Scaling-up the impact of 30×30
Wednesday, June 29 at 10:30 AM- 12:00 PM; Auditorium III, PT Meeting Center, Lisbon; Portugal
Led by the Wildlife Conservation Society, this event will compare different approaches for identifying the location of protected areas established within the 30×30 initiative.
Empowering coastal communities to protect the ocean
Local and Indigenous communities depend on territorial waters for food and jobs—these waters can’t all be off limits. Through Rare’s Fish Forever program, we are helping these communities pair protection with sustainable use, reserving their rights to fish in these areas and putting them in charge of their management to empower them and ensure they benefit from conservation. We call this system Managed Access with Reserves.
The Coastal Communities: Raising the voices of small-scale fishers
As we focus on the ocean this month, we recognize the small-scale fishers and their communities who lead the way in protecting and managing their territorial seas. During this International Year of Artisanal Fisheries & Aquaculture, Rare is highlighting individuals who are inspiring their fishing communities to protect the ocean.
The Ocean-Climate connection: Helping people, our ocean and the climate adapt
Rare empowers local resource users to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural climate solutions, like mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and soils. These solutions reduce peoples’ vulnerability to climate change’s impacts.
A partner for Vibrant Oceans
Rare is a proud to be part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative to protect the ocean from pressing threats, like overfishing, and enable greater ocean sustainability.