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Plastic has penetrated everyday life, and the disadvantages of plastics are becoming more and more visible: large quantities of plastics leak into rivers and oceans, with adverse effects to marine ecosystems and related economic activities.

The ocean is a major player in the regulation of the world’s climate system. The purpose of the report is to provide information to underpin the outcomes of COP21 and in particular to demonstrate the importance of the role of MPAs in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Ocean warming may well turn out to be the greatest hidden challenge of our generation. This report represents the most comprehensive review to date on ocean warming.

Following the first international workshop on the economics of ocean acidification organized by the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2010,  a second international workshop was held in November 2012, which explored the level of risk, and the resilience or

Equal parts inspiration and practical advice for urban planners, ocean activists, and policymakers, Blue Urbanism offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and great potential for urban areas to integrate ocean health into their policy and planning goals.

This report sets out the importance of carbon in the open ocean and, through examples, illustrates the significance and values of some of its major carbon pools and sinks.

As the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere rises, an increasing amount of the gas is absorbed by the ocean, making it more acidic.

Development and implementation of blue carbon-based activities now requires strategic policy and incentive mechanisms to achieve coastal conservation, restoration and sustainable use, and provide disincentives to drain or damage coastal systems.

Scientists used a network of interdisciplinary studies to investigate the ecological effects of marine managed areas (MMAs) dispersed widely across the tropics.

Through presentations, discussions and recommendations the workshop documented and described the cumulative effects of such impacts, how these commonly act in a negatively synergistic way, and why therefore concerted action is now needed to address the consequences set out in this report.

This document summarizes discussions that were held during a workshop in December 2011 and which focused on making progress on the identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas for seamounts in the high seas.

This document draws on marine managed area (MMA) experiences worldwide by synthesizing results from over 25 natural science studies conducted over the past five years in 18 tropical countries in 48 MMAs.

Insert for a presentation folder on GOBI. Describes GOBI's online submission tool to accept information about ecologically or biologically significant areas in the open oceans and deep seas.

Insert for a presentation folder on GOBI, focusing on the EBSAs in the Pacific Ocean region.

Insert for a presentation folder on GOBI.

Insert for a presentation folder on GOBI.

This publication provides a much needed and timely tool to assist in the collective effort to find new and better solutions to address the various threats to the marine biological diversity and productivity.

The World Heritage Convention is a principal protection mechanism available to recognise and protect the very best marine sites around the globe. A key step to targeted application of the Convention has now been made by the creation of the Bahrain Action Plan for marine World Heritage.

A background document for the CBD expert workshop.