UNESCO World Heritage launches USD$9 million investment in climate adaptation at Our Ocean Conference

For the first time, UNESCO World Heritage coral reef managers will partner with global climate resilience experts and local community stakeholders to build and embed comprehensive resilience strategies into their management of World Heritage sites.

The four-year USD$9 million initiative will build climate resilience leadership in an initial five of the world’s most treasured coral reefs and their communities, including Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (Palau), Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems (France), Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (Belize), Ningaloo Coast and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).

From left to right: John Kerry, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, H.E. Philippe Germain (President of New Caledonia), H.E. Isabel De Saint Malo de Alvarado (Vice President of the Republic of Panama), Abraham Goram, Dona Bertarelli, Dr. Fanny Douvere, Brett Jenks. H.E. Malcolm Turnbull. Photo: Our Ocean 2018.

The initiative is led by an international consortium of partners, including UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Rockefeller Foundation and its pioneering 100 Resilient Cities, BHP Foundation, the Nature Conservancy’s Reef Resilience Network, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the global consultancy in environmental engineering, AECOM.

The commitment was launched during the Plenary Session on Marine Protected Areas, chaired by John Kerry. The 2018 Our Ocean Conference was opened by H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.

UNESCO World Heritage launches USD$9 million investment in climate adaptation at Our Ocean Conference

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