GEF International Waters Conference

Salvador, Brazil

20-27 June 2005

Large Marine EcosystemsAssessment and Management

Approach 2005-2010

ECOLOGICAL CRITERIA USED TO DETERMINE

AREAL EXTENT OF LMES:

• Bathymetry

• Hydrography

• Productivity

• Trophodynamics

Humanexpansion

Alteredecosystems

33MechanicalMechanical

habitathabitatdestructiondestruction

22PollutionPollution

““Then”Then” “Now”“Now”

11FishingFishing

44IntroductionsIntroductions

55Climate changeClimate change

(from Jackson et al., Science vol. 293, 27 July 2001)

GEF – LME Programs Partner with UNEP Regional Seas Programme

More than 140 countries participate in 13 regional

programmes in the Black Sea, Caribbean, East Africa, East Asia, the Kuwait Convention Region, Mediterranean, North-East Pacific, North-West Pacific, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, South Asia, South-East Pacific, South Pacific, and West and Central Africa—all under UNEP’s auspices. There are also 5 partner programmes for the Antarctic, Artic, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea and North-East Atlantic.

121 countries currently involved in 17 GEF-LME

projects

Map with LMEs

THE 64 LMES OF THE WORLD:

1 East Bering Sea 2 Gulf of Alaska 3 California Current 4 Gulf of California 5 Gulf of Mexico 6 Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf 7 Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf 8 Scotian Shelf 9 Newfoundland-Labrador Shelf10 Insular Pacific- Hawaiian11 Pacific Central-American Coastal12 Caribbean Sea13 Humboldt Current14 Patagonian Shelf15 South Brazil Shelf16 East Brazil Shelf17 North Brazil Shelf18 West Greenland Shelf19 East Greenland Shelf20 Barents Sea 21 Norwegian Shelf22 North Sea23 Baltic Sea24 Celtic-Biscay Shelf25 Iberian Coastal26 Mediterranean Sea27 Canary Current28 Guinea Current29 Benguela Current30 Agulhas Current31 Somali Coastal Current32 Arabian Sea33 Red Sea34 Bay of Bengal35 Gulf of Thailand36 South China Sea37 Sulu-Celebes Sea38 Indonesian Sea39 North Australian Shelf40 Northeast Australian Shelf –

Great Barrier Reef41 East Central Australian Shelf42 Southeast Australian Shelf43 Southwest Australian Shelf44 West-Central Australian Shelf45 Northwest Australian Shelf46 New Zealand Shelf

47 East China Sea48 Yellow Sea49 Kuroshio Current50 Sea of Japan51 Oyashio Current52 Sea of Okhotsk53 West Bering Sea54 Chukchi Sea55 Beaufort Sea56 East Siberian Sea57 Laptev Sea58 Kara Sea59 Iceland Shelf60 Faroe Plateau61 Antarctic62 Black Sea63 Hudson Bay64 Arctic Ocean

SELECTED ECOSYSTEM-RELATED WSSD TARGETS AND PROGRAM OF ACTION (POI),

Johannesburg, August 2002

• Land-based Sources of Pollution POI – Substantially reduce by 2006• Ecosystem-based Approach POI – Introduce by 2010• Marine Protected Areas POI - Designated Network by 2012• Restoration and Sustainability of Fisheries POI – On an urgent basis and where possible to MSY by 2015

LMEs ARE GLOBAL CENTERS OF EFFORTS TO:

• REDUCE coastal pollution

• RESTORE damaged habitats

(Coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses)

• RECOVER depleted fishery stocks

Collaborating International Partners• IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission)• UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)• UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme)• Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA)• Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine

Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA)• UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization, Fisheries Division)• GEF (The Global Environmental Facility)• The World Bank• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)• IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of nature, GEF-

LME Projects• WWF (World Wildlife Fund)

121 Developing Countries Participate in LME Assessment and

Management Projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern

Europe.

GEF and Country Investment in Projects as of January 2004 = $650

million.

GEF International WatersOperational Strategy

Supports New

Paradigm

• Ecosystem-based LME Restoration Actions

•TDA/SAPPriority Actions

5 MODULES WITH INDICATORS

INDICATORS OF CHANGING ECOSYSTEM STATES:

Productivity

Fish and Fisheries

Pollution

Socioeconomic

Governance

An undulating oceanographic recorder (above), towed behind a ship, is used to collect ecological parameters needed to assess the state of the marine ecosystem (left).

PRODUCTIVITY INDICATORS

FISH AND FISHERIES INDICATORS

• Demersal species surveys

• Pelagic species surveys

• Ichthyoplankton surveys

• Invertebrate surveys (clams, scallops, shrimp, lobster, squid)

• Essential fish habitat

• Marine protected areas

Georges Bank Yellowtail

Year

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Spa

wni

ng S

tock

Bio

mas

s ('0

00 m

t) &

Rec

ruitm

ent (

mill

ions

, age

1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Exp

loita

tion

Rat

e

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Spawning Stock BiomassRecruitmentExploitation Rate

Georges Bank Haddock

Year

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Spa

wni

ng S

tock

Bio

mas

s ('0

00 m

t) &

Rec

ruitm

ent (

mill

ions

, age

1)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Exp

loita

tion

Ra

te

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

Spawning Stock BiomassRecruitmentExploitation Rate

FISH AND FISHERIES INDICATORS

DIN Export by Rivers for World Regions 1990 and 2050 BAU Scenario

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Tg

N y

-1

NorthAmerica

SouthAmerica

Africa Europe NEAsia

EasternAsia

SouthernAsia

1990

2050

Indicators: Water Clarity

Dissolved OxygenCoastal Wetland LossEutrophic ConditionSediment ContaminationBenthic IndexFish Tissue ContaminantsMultiple Marine Ecological

Disturbances

POLLUTION AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTHPOLLUTION AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTH INDICATORSINDICATORS

NORTHEAST SHELF MANAGEMENT JURISDICTIONS

SOCIOECONOMICS AND GOVERNANCE

Among the specific project objectives are:

• Recovery of depleted fish biomass and fisheries to promote greater food security, sustainable productivity, and socioeconomic benefits

• Reduction in pollution and eutrophication levels of coastal waters

• Restoration of degraded habitats including coral reefs, mangroves, and wetlands

SPECIFIC PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Guinea Current Indicators

Guinea Current Indicators

Guinea Current Indicators

Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project: Angola, Namibia andSouth Africa

Decline in commercial fish stocks, over- harvestingHighly variable ecosystem status and yieldsDeterioration in water quality, chronic and catastrophicHabitat destruction and alterationThreats to biotic integrity and biodiversityLimited resources for monitoring and assessmentHarmful algal blooms

MAJOR TRANSBOUNDARY PROBLEMS

BENGUELA CURRENT LME

THE INTERIM BENGUELA CURRENT COMMISSION

• Three representatives from each country, each with a vote, and equality between member states

• Non-voting representation from:

– SEAFO

– UNDP

– UNEP

– SADC

– BENEFIT

– The Secretariat

• Representation of World Bank on the IBCC for 5 years

BENGUELA CURRENT LME

PLANNING ACTIONS1. Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) – provides consensus priorities from analysis and ranking of water-related resources issues, their environmental and socioeconomic impacts, immediate and root causes and possible remedies

2. Strategic Action Program (SAP) – provides national and regional commitments to policy, legal and institutional reforms, and investments to remedy root causes of priority transboundary issues identified in TDA

IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS3. Ecosystem-based assessment and management strategy for TDA and SAP

3.1 Productivity indicators and assessments

3.2 Fish and fisheries indicators and assessments

3.3 Pollution and ecosystem health indicators and assessments

3.4 Socioeconomic indicators and assessments

3.5 Governance indicators and assessments

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Years 5-10

Assessments & Management Actions

Assessments & Management Actions

Assessments & Management Actions

Toward Self-financing Assessments and adaptive management

Ecosystem-Based Assessment and

Adaptive Management

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT:

A PARADIGM SHIFT

FROM TO

Individual species Ecosystems

Small spatial scale Multiple scales

Short-term perspective Long-term perspective

Humans: independent of ecosystems

Humans: integral part of ecosystems

Management divorced from research

Adaptive management

Managing commodities Sustaining production potential for goods and services

NOTE: Some of the substantive changes between traditional resource management and ecosystem management.

UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme partners with the GEF-LME Projects to advance participating countries

toward ecosystem-based assessment and management of marine resources

and their environments

LME / GEF PROJECTSIN SUPPORT OF

UNEP REGIONAL SEAS PROGRAMME

• Integrate land-based sources of pollution Project activities with LME modular assessment strategy

• From $650 million to $1.8 billion

• + $200 million (Sub-Sahara World Bank Fisheries Grants and Loans)

• TOTAL: $2 billion