Marine World Heritage News:
November 2017

In this issue: Partnership with Monaco, internship opportunity, reporting from COP23, and protecting Banc d'Arguin National Park

Redefining what success looks like

The Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals have laid the groundwork for greater global cooperation that is the foundation of World Heritage. Building climate resilience in the world's most iconic places is at the heart of the World Heritage system and we have seen big advances just this month from the expansion of Archipiélago de Revillagigedo to the draft oil moratorium in Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. Thanks to the collective efforts and critical support from colleagues like you we can accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and redefine what success looks like for our oceans.

- Fanny Douvere, Coordinator, World Heritage Marine Programme

Monaco joins marine World Heritage with strategic partnership

On November 1, the Principality of Monaco signed a strategic partnership to support the World Heritage Marine Programme. Monaco has long been a leader in ocean conservation. This commitment is part of Monaco Explorations, a broader campaign to reconnect humanity to the sea. It will bring Yersin, an environmentally-friendly vessel that has been transformed into a floating scientific laboratory, to several World Heritage marine sites in the coming years, enhancing our understanding of these unique places.

Read more

Internship opens at marine World Heritage

The World Heritage Marine Programme is expanding its reach. We are seeking an intern to join our multidisciplinary team to help support our growth. Interns require a four month commitment, and the role will be based out of our Paris office. We are specifically seeking someone with a communication background, a dynamic personality and a hands-on mentality. Fluent in English is essential. French or Spanish is highly recommended. All general information about UNESCO internships is online here. Interested candidates should submit their CV to wh-marine@unesco.org

Raising the stakes for World Heritage coral reefs at COP23

Earlier this month at the 23rd Conference of Parties in Bonn, Germany, the Marine Programme partnered with Agence Française pour la Biodiversité and the International Coral Reef Initiative to host "Coral Reefs at Climate Crossroads." The research on coral bleaching is sobering, but there is reason for optimism as well, thanks to the international cooperation supported by covenants like the Paris Agreement and World Heritage Convention. The results of IUCN's second Natural World Heritage Outlook, that was launched at COP23, indicates that more than two thirds of all natural World Heritage sites are moving in the right direction.

Protecting Banc d'Arguin National Park from ship pollution

Mauritania's Banc d'Arguin, and the millions of birds that winter there, are one step closer to protection from groundings, noise and pollution from international maritime traffic. From 6 to 8 November, we participated in a fact-finding mission with the International Maritime Organization that will inform the design of a specially-protected zone, called a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA), to route ships on the West Africa shipping lane away from vulnerable habitat. This would be the first PSSA on the African continent, and follows the approval of a PSSA at Tubbataha Reefs in the Philippines earlier this year.

Coming next: Glacier Bay helps Komodo National Park scale up conservation

From 1-8 December, the World Heritage Marine Programme will bring together managers from Glacier Bay National Park (USA) and Komodo National Park (Indonesia) to share knowledge and capacity to support management of Komodo's marine areas. Komodo is experiencing an increase in cruise ship traffic, and can learn from Glacier Bay's system, matured over 25 years, to manage impacts from cruise ship tourism impacts. Glacier Bay has reduced pollution from ships to near zero.

Learn more about the Glacier Bay model here.

Nyhende frå marin verdsarv - november 2017

Marine World Heritage News:November 2017