A functioning planet Earth relies on healthy and productive blue ecosystems from coral reefs and seagrass meadows to rivers and wetlands. Water is the lifeblood coursing through all life on Earth.
Blue ecosystems, including interconnected salt and freshwater ecosystems, play indispensable roles in sustaining nature, humanity, and our planet. They offer essential services such as regulating Earth's temperature by absorbing excess heat, storing and purifying freshwater, providing natural infrastructure to protect from storms and erosion, and generating more than half of the oxygen we breathe. Additionally, they serve as crucial habitats for an astonishing array of biodiversity.
However, the health of these
ecosystems and their ability to provide vital services, faces a grave threat from the triple planetary crisis and other pressures including unsustainable use for food production, energy generation, water extraction, mining, and unsustainable coastal development.
UNEP’s work aims to protect, conserve and restore healthy and productive blue ecosystems, and their biodiversity, along the water continuum to safeguard ecosystems services benefiting nature, humanity, and the climate.
Our work on Blue Ecosystems is carried out through public-private partnerships, often involving partners, collaborating centers and networks.
