Costa Rica highlights alliance to establish marine protected areas

San Jose, June 28 (EFE). Costa Rica on Monday highlighted a global coalition seeking to position marine protected areas as key tools to tackle the climate crisis, an official source said.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica has highlighted the international alliance between Chile, Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom and the United States to promote the role of marine protected areas as nature-based solutions to combat climate change.

The Deputy Minister of Water emphasized that “coastal populations in developing countries not only face challenges to survive sea-level rise, but also have fewer and fewer opportunities to access marine resources that are the basis of their well-being, economy and culture.” And the sea, Heidi Rodriguez.

The official added, “The benefits of blue carbon stored in soil and roots for centuries, protecting marine biodiversity and supporting coastal communities, are a triple win for nature-based solutions and these kinds of alliances in the fight against climate change.”

The so-called International Alliance of Marine Protected Areas, Biodiversity and Climate Change will have scientific support from representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Scottish Alliance for Marine Science and Technology.

The initiative will work with world leaders to provide the necessary information and tools that enhance and demonstrate the contribution of marine protected areas as keys to maintaining or restoring the resilience of ecosystems in a changing climate and its positive impacts on biodiversity.

According to the authorities, marine and coastal habitats conserve biodiversity and provide abundant ecosystem services, such as storm protection, erosion control, food production, employment, tourism and recreation.

In addition, they can protect blue carbon habitats, including swamps, seagrass, mangroves, and the sea floor, allowing for long-term storage of atmospheric carbon.

“Coastal wetlands, mangroves, marine algae or blue carbon provide long-term carbon fixation and in a measurable way (…) this ecosystem within MPAs is fundamental to maintaining the appropriate ocean balance and sea resilience process”, expressed Rodriguez.

For Costa Rica, international cooperation is essential to realize climate benefits, as they are committed to exploring synergies, sharing knowledge and experience, and working together to address gaps in scientific knowledge that allow for the promotion of MPAs as a tool to combat climate change. EFE

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