Donald Macintosh, Senior Advisor, Mangroves for the Future Programme talks about how investing in coastal ecosystem like the mangroves is a win-win situation for everyone as it gives a massive boost to the ecology and the economy while protecting us from natural disasters like the tsunami.

To find out more about the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress click HERE.
Information provided by Mission Blue partner IUCN.…

Jeju Island, Republic of Korea (IUCN) – As concern increases on the state of natural resources and the degradation of the world’s oceans, it is critical to be clear on how countries are progressing with conservation actions for the environment. New guidance issued today on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) will significantly improve ocean protection efforts.
Guidelines for Applying the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories to Marine Protected Areas aims to make clear what is most significant and of highest priority in MPAs and will help countries more accurately detail their successes. The new guidelines will define MPAs—preventing the trend of fisheries advisory bodies claiming that area mechanisms that exploit fish are MPAs. Also, pipeline areas and wind farms will not be considered MPAs unless they are set up following specific guidelines, with clear long-term objectives for nature conservation.…

By James Oliver
The Andros Barrier Reef, located off Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas archipelago, is the second largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. Extending for a distance of approximately 200km, this reef system is home to over 164 species of fish and coral and is famous for its deep-water sponges and large schools of red snappers. It has been identified as a “Hope Spot” by the Mission Blue project of world-renowned oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle and, as with other Hope Spots, critical to the health of the ocean.
Today at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress we heard more worrying news for Caribbean coral reefs with the release of a new report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, coordinated by IUCN, which estimates that 85-90% of the region’s coral reefs are dead or dying.…

Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, 7 September 2012 (IUCN) – Time is running out for corals on Caribbean reefs. Urgent measures must be taken to limit pollution and regulate aggressive fishing practices that threaten the existence of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems, according to a new IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) report.
Average live coral cover on Caribbean reefs has declined to just 8% of the reef today, compared with more than 50% in the 1970s according to the report’s findings. Furthermore, rates of decline on most reefs show no signs of slowing, although the deterioration of live coral cover on more remote reefs in the Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands and elsewhere is less marked—with up to 30% cover still surviving.…