UN Kicks Off International Year of the Reef in Fiji

As the world faces a major loss of coral reefs to bleaching and other environmental challenges, the United Nations has designated 2018 as the third International Year of the Reef to shine a light on the global crisis.

According to a U.N. press release, more than half of the planet’s coral has died due to rising water temperatures and ocean acidification over the last three decades.

To kick off the year-long awareness campaign, the first official event took place Nukubati Resort, a Fijian-owned property which fronts the Great Sea Reef, said to be the third-longest continuous barrier reef in the world.

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“This is a global event of relevance to every single person on earth,” said Fiji’s Prime Minister, Hon. Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, who presided over the local events. “But it has a particular resonance for the Fijian people because of where we are today–on the edge of one of our most precious national assets, the Great Sea Reef or Cakaulevu Reef, as it is known in iTaukei”.

Bainimarama emphasized the importance of protecting the world's reefs and also announced that a significant portion of the Reef had been nominated as a Ramsar site under the Convention on Wetlands, to help protect it from external threats.

A Ramsar site is designated under international treaty as a wetland important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life.

“We are engaged in a battle for the future of these reefs,” he said. “We approved the nomination of large parts of the Great Sea Reef as a Ramsar site to protect it for future generations. Today I appeal to every single person on earth to help us. We must replace the present culture of abuse with a culture of care.”

The Prime Minister also thanked the UN for choosing Fiji as the location from which it would highlight the state of the world’s reefs.

“I want to use this opportunity as COP President and as the new year begins to reaffirm Fiji’s determination to continue to lead the global climate negotiations with absolute vigor, focus and commitment”.

Also in attendance at the Nukubati kick-off event were representatives from the United Nations and WWF, who announced a new collaboration to combat the decline of coral reefs.

“This is a make or break year for the world’s coral reefs,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment. “We have a short window when we can act, and the United Nations, WWF, and countries like Fiji are calling on the world to take the steps that will fix the problem this year.”

“A healthy planet depends on healthy oceans which cannot exist without preserving coral reefs- a key pillar of WWF's conservation work worldwide,” Marco Lambertini, Director-General of WWF International said. “While the world’s oceans are under pressure across the board, coral reefs stand out as needing a global response urgently. Holding a quarter of the ocean’s biodiversity and underpinning the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, the stakes could not be higher for corals – and humanity.”

The good news for the Pacific region is that Pacific refs are in better shape than many other reefs around the world, according to featured excerpts from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), which will be released in its entirety later this year. The report based its data on information from 128 islands and 19 nations or territories around the world. Despite their better-than-average health, they too face threats.

The top threats to coral reefs are rising temperatures and ocean acidification, pollution of nutrients, sediments and plastics, as well as overfishing and destructive fishing practices, according to the United Nations.

The UN Action Hub has found the average period between bleaching events has been declining since 1980, and severe bleaching episodes are now happening twice as frequently.

Solheim called 2018, a “make or break year for the world’s coral reefs.” UNEP has additionally spearheaded a UN Clean Seas campaign to help combat marine litter.

READ MORE: Visitor Destinations May Get Dying Coral Back

While threats to the ocean environment continue, in recent months, nations around the world have taken major steps to protect their waters.

Earlier this year, Belize slapped a moratorium on all offshore oil activity in order to protect the Belize Barrier Reef. In November, Mexico designated the Revillagigedo Archipelago, located some 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, as the nation’s newest national park.

Earlier in 2017, the Pacific nation of Niue also designated a new protected marine park, while Chile announced the addition of two new marine parks encompassing more than 240,000 square miles.