News from Conservation International

Resplendent quetzals like this one play an important role as seed dispersers, particularly for wild avocados. (© Efraín Orantes)

Through our Team Earth story, “Chiapas: Coffee, Climate and Conservation in Mexico,” we’ve been exploring many of the connections between communities, ecosystems and the beverage that hundreds of millions of us drink every day. In this guest blog from a scientist funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme, we bring you another part of the story — farmers-turned-birdwatchers whose newfound knowledge is causing bird-friendly shifts in coffee cultivation.

As we enjoy awakening to our favorite coffee blend, sip by sip, how often do we think about where it comes from? Do we stop to contemplate the origin of our coffee beans, the livelihoods of the people who grow them, or the ecological impacts of our consumer choices? Isn’t it time to connect our coffee to its roots in conservation?

Local farmers/bird monitors looking for birds on a transect. (© Elizabeth Tyson)

Most coffee is produced in high altitude forest. Coffee is the main export crop in Nuevo Paraiso, a small one-restaurant town in Chiapas, Mexico where one of the two coffee cooperatives in the area, known as Comon Yaj Noptic is located. The other coffee cooperative, Ramal Santa Cruz, is a pick-up truck or horse ride up the road. Both cooperatives are made up of organic, shade-grown coffee farmers that farm on communally owned and managed lands, called ejido.

Each farmer has a small plot of coffee bushes that grow in the pine-oak forests in the buffer zone surrounding the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. This biological hotspot is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and is home to many migratory, endemic and rare birds such as the horned guan (Oreophasis derbianus), azure rumped tanager (Tangara cabanisi), golden-cheeked warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) — arguably a Texan — and the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). Many of these species spend summers up north in the U.S. and Canada — you may have even seen some of them in your own backyard.

Pronatura Sur, one of the largest non-governmental organizations in southern Mexico, had an innovative idea to train these local farmers, known as campesinos, in bird identification to gather data on bird populations. With the help of scientists, these campesinos are becoming more knowledgeable about birds and the ecosystem services birds provide for coffee, such as pest control.

Campesino bird monitors looking at birds in an organic, shade-grown coffee plot. (© Jennifer Lowry)

Citizen science isn’t new — you may be familiar with the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, which is one of the oldest citizen-science projects still in operation.

These types of projects bring about many additional benefits besides scientific information. In my case, I was evaluating the bird monitors’ technical capacities — such as bird identification and data collection skills — as well as their perceptions of nature. To my surprise, these bird monitors hadn’t always liked birds; some campesinos used to kill birds for pleasure. It wasn’t until they became involved with this program that their attitudes on birds and conservation started changing. As one monitor put it, “We now run outside with our binoculars, instead of a slingshot.”

Now there are community signs that read, “No Hunting,” “Conserve Nature,” and “Do Not Harm the Trees.” Monitors incorporate their bird observations into the management of their coffee farms, leaving more trees standing than in the past.

Having witnessed firsthand the connection between coffee and conservation, I hope I’ve convinced you of the value of buying organic, shade-grown coffee. It tastes better, keeps habitat protected for our birds, and empowers coffee farmers like those in Chiapas to earn a living with binoculars in hand!

Jennifer Lowry is part of a team of scientists currently conducting a research project entitled “Bird Species Richness within Shade-Grown Coffee Farms in Chiapas, Mexico.” This project is funded through the Conservation Leadership Programme, a partnership of Conservation International, BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Learn more about Jennifer’s work, or check out our Team Earth Chiapas story.

CI's Conservation Stewards Program supports sustainable rice production in Madagascar. (© Cristina Mittermeier)

Throughout 2012, as we celebrate CI’s 25 years of impact, Editorial Director Todd Christopher will recount the ways CI has been changing the face of conservation. Today he focuses on community engagement.

Several years ago, CI revealed a new mission — one that emphasized human well-being as the ultimate goal of its conservation efforts. But our abiding concern for people has been readily apparent throughout 25 years of work — and perhaps no more visible than in our ongoing engagement with local communities.

From the beginning, CI has recognized the vital connections between the health of a community and the health of its environment, especially in remote, biodiversity-rich frontiers.

Through an early program in Guatemala, CI worked with local midwives and trained them to deliver conservation messages along with community health counsel — demonstrating a new and effective way to partner. The integration of health and social development needs into CI’s work with local communities was formalized with the creation of the Healthy Communities Initiative in 1997, with support from the Mulago Foundation. And in 2002, when groundbreaking congressional earmarks made USAID funding available to projects in Madagascar, Guatemala and the Philippines, CI began implementing the Healthy Families, Healthy Forests project — improving family planning, hygiene and nutrition for local communities in areas of high biodiversity.

On the heels of those successes, CI’s relationship with the Mulago Foundation expanded to focus on incorporating community needs and priorities into conservation strategy. The resulting Conservation Stewards Program (CSP), launched in 2005, broke new ground by negotiating conservation agreements with local communities. The model is clear and compelling: In return for commitments to conservation — from halting deforestation to patrolling protected areas — CI offers direct economic incentives that seek to improve community well-being, enabling those communities most dependent upon nature to take an active part in its conservation.

Todd Christopher

Through a wide portfolio of projects that protect biodiversity while improving quality of life for local people, CSP has engaged nearly 100 communities in 17 countries. CSP currently maintains 51 agreements that impact the lives of 35,000 people around the world while conserving nearly 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of natural habitat.

Todd Christopher is CI’s editorial director.

An Ethiopian conservationist identifies plants on the Sanetti Plateau of the Bale Mountains in south-central Ethiopia — part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. (© Robin Moore)

How many environmentalists does it take to develop a regional conservation strategy? Quite a lot! Recently more than 200 of them worked together to design a plan for protecting essential ecosystems in an area known as the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot.  

The hotspot covers more than 9,650 kilometers (6,000 miles) from the mountains of Arabia to the Chimanimani Massif on the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique, to the Ethiopian highlands and the lakes of the Albertine Rift. To develop an ecosystem profile — a strategic plan to guide conservation investment in the region — the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) engaged conservationists, researchers, government officials and local stakeholders from across the 17-country region.

This diverse group’s 14-month effort to obtain and analyze mountains of data has paid off. Their more than 300-page report (PDF) filled with information on the species, ecosystems, socioeconomics, policies and current environmental investments has resulted in CEPF committing $9.8 million to help protect the Eastern Afromontane’s most critical natural areas.

Its widely scattered mountains contain incredibly diverse and unique natural worlds that are the lifeline to the 475 million people living there. Local species include (but are certainly not limited to):

• An estimated 2,350 plant species found nowhere else;
• 500 mammal species, including the iconic mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) and the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis);
• Approximately 620 freshwater fish species that are unique to the region; and
• An untold number of as-yet undiscovered species. 

  Gelada baboon. These Old World monkeys are found only in the Ethiopian highlands, which are part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot. (© Robin Moore)

The profile highlights both the incredible biological richness of the hotspot and its importance to the well-being and development of countries that depend upon its natural resources, particularly fresh water and ecosystem support to agriculture and food security. It also details the terrible threats to the remaining natural areas in the region, which is experiencing an unprecedented population boom coupled with enduring poverty.

The profiling team, led by BirdLife International and supported by CEPF and Conservation International scientists, worked with colleagues via five national workshops, two regional workshops, and countless exchanges of letters.

This was not an easy endeavor. The team had to work around geopolitical turmoil such as the Arab Spring, which led to cancellation of the workshop in Yemen, and the appearance of a new country on our maps: South Sudan, which became independent in July 2011. But, with great skill, they compiled and distilled a vast amount of data and ideas, culminating in a comprehensive conservation strategy for the region, and a specific strategy that CEPF will pursue in up to 36 priority sites over the next five years.

CEPF’s funds will go to local nongovernmental organizations and others working in the hotspot to support these valuable ecosystems for the benefit of people and nature — in short, initiatives that recognize and act on the links between the need for sustainable development and the imperative to preserve the natural wealth of these countries. The profile also provides a roadmap for others interested in joining strategic conservation efforts in the region.

With the profile completed, and the investment strategy set, CEPF has begun searching for the regional implementation team that will support us in reaching out to local civil society groups and shepherding this promising strategy. We expect to begin grant-making before the end of 2012.

Patricia Zurita is the executive director of CEPF, which is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the government of Japan, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. Learn more about CEPF.

As Conservation International (CI) celebrates our 25th anniversary, we’re excited to share stories of our success from across the globe. Today, CI-Colombia co-founder José Vicente Rodriguez looks back on 20 years of conservation work in his home country.

CI-Colombia co-founders José Vicente Rodriguez (foreground) and Rod Mast (background) un-sticking a boat in Colombia's Bahia de Barbacoas in 1995. (© CI/Photo by Sterling Zumbrunn)

On a December day in 1975, my wife Blanca Nelly and I decided to get married and start our own family. Exactly 16 years later, on December 17th 1991, Rod Mast and I officially created CI-Colombia — with me as its first local director — and I began to build my second family at CI. It’s hard to believe that that day was now more than 20 years ago.

Rod came to CI in July of 1989 with a clear understanding of the biological importance of Colombia, a love for Colombian culture — and even a Colombian wife, Angela. He and I had become brothers-in-arms years earlier, having worked together on sea turtle and cotton-top tamarin conservation.

With strong support from CI’s CEO Peter Seligmann and President Russ Mittermeier, we commenced a cascade of ideas that have accumulated over time to bring us to where CI-Colombia is today. At the time, this decision sparked the greatest challenge of my life. My house was our first office, and my family members — Blanca Nelly and my children, particularly Juan Carlos and later Alejandro — were our first employees. Taking on a program with various financial constraints, what we faced in those early days was no easy feat, but thanks to the passion and the support of our growing staff, we overcame those challenging moments and positioned ourselves for a solid future.

Rod Mast (left) and José Vicente Rodriguez (right) in the Andes in 2010. (© Morrison Mast)

Thanks to the generosity of our first donors — The Mario Santo Domingo Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and others — we began our work within the regions of Chocó and Amazon. In Chocó, we helped to develop sustainable markets for non-timber products, such as tagua, wax and fibers, and created the Chocó-Manabí Conservation Corridor, which is located within Colombia and Ecuador. We also developed a biodiversity program within the Amazon region, and today we have two biological stations, Centro Ambiental en La Pedrera and Mosiro Itajura-Caparú.

We have since expanded our efforts across the country — and beyond. Together with Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama, we are supporting marine conservation and sustainable use of resources in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape, an ocean territory larger than Mexico. We have also established Colombia’s REDD+ board, and we are currently executing REDD+ forest carbon activities in La Guajira and Amazonas.

Educating the Public My reflections on generating changes on public attitude have always been that ignorance is the worst enemy of conservation, because if you don’t value what you have, you don’t take care of it. To combat this ignorance, we have created many publications over the years, now numbering more than 80 titles printed and over 1 million copies distributed.

One of our most significant publication series has been the “Tropical Field Guides,” which has come to fill an empty niche in the American tropics. Titles such as “Turtles and Crocodilians of the Tropical Andes” and “The Primates, the Parrots and the Amazonian Fish of Colombia” have played a vital role in sharing scientific knowledge in the region.

Black-mantle tamarins in Colombia. (© CI/ photo by Haroldo Castro)

We have also created a series of small books about groups of endangered species, and published huge quantities of field guides for children. Never before in Colombia has there been such a wide dissemination of free books dedicated to spreading knowledge about biodiversity: 80,000 copies of each. These were followed by other series of manuals that were oriented towards stimulating the application of proper monitoring methodologies between amateur and professional naturalists.

Scientific Collaboration In order to proceed with true sustainable development, every country needs strong scientific knowledge that takes into account the value of its ecosystems and biodiversity. To this end, we have built programs to repatriate accumulated biological information from museums and private collections and make it accessible to decision-makers and the general public. These actions have demonstrated the importance of managing conservation information that is updated, geo-referenced and analyzed by interagency alliances.

An example of these successful initiatives is ARA, a database that collects biodiversity information from across Colombia. With support from countless organizations in the country and around the world — including museums, universities and NGOs — this decision-making tool has been adopted by principal government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment.

Milestones in Freshwater Conservation In addition, the first World Congress of Páramos in 2009 and the creation of the Chingaza-Sumapaz-Guerrero Conservation Corridor in 2011 have been important events that have highlighted and provided strategies for the conservation of our most essential ecosystem service: fresh water.

The corridor ensures a safe drinking-water supply for the city of Bogotá and its surroundings, which impacts more than 10 million people. As a result, the corridor enhances farming systems, protects the environment and secures freshwater deposits. In addition, the conservation corridor has mitigated the effects of climate change through reforestation projects, conservation agreements and other strategies. (Learn more in the video below.)

As a result, we could say that over these first 20 years we have narrowed our focus on modern challenges without forgetting our roots. Our efforts have been reinforced by fortunate arrival of my friend Fabio Arjona as executive director of CI-Colombia. Due to his refined knowledge of environmental services, his visionary outlook on the issues posed by climate change and his tremendous capacity for dialogue with political and financial figures, we are confident in our ability to have an enormous impact within public politics and make successful steps toward a better tomorrow.

Finally, I want to express my profound gratitude to all of my friends, to those individuals who have directly or indirectly been part of CI-Colombia, and especially to the members of our current staff and those who are no longer with us. Thanks to their contributions, we achieved the many successes that we can share with you today.

The future still holds many challenges, but the continued support and commitment of both staff and supporters will help us confront it.

José Vicente Rodriguez is the co-founder and scientific director of CI-Colombia.

I am writing to share with you some exciting news: the phasing out of shark fin dishes by Shangri-La, a major Asian-based hotel chain that has 72 hotels and resorts worldwide.

This announcement followed similar commitments by Hong Kong-based Peninsula Hotels in December and Capella Singapore in January — as well as recent bans on shark fin possession by the U.S. states of Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California. Conservation International (CI) applauds these landmark decisions, which represent a shift in behavior that could save these magnificent ocean predators from extinction.

Scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) swimming among reef fish in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Shark finning is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of sharks every year. (© Fred Bavendam/Minden Pictures)

As you may know based on increasing media attention to this important issue, shark fin soup is a symbol of status in some Asian countries — primarily China — and is a popular dish at weddings and other important events. However, shark finning is an unsustainable practice that is responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of sharks every year — and if it is not curbed, it may wipe out many species completely. Many shark species are apex predators residing at the top of the food chain; their disappearance would have serious consequences for other marine species.

In early 2010, CI began discussions with major international hotel chains (Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and Starwood) about creating sustainable seafood programs, with a particular focus on the complicated issue of shark finning. After CI convened the hotels and formed a loose affiliation called the Sustainable Seafood Coalition of the Hospitality Industry, the group decided to focus their initial efforts on the removal of shark fin dishes from their menus. Additionally, I and staff from CI’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business and Global Marine Division team have met with several of the executives of Asian-based hotel chains, including Shangri-La, New World and Capella Singapore to continue one-on-one discussions with them about creating a sustainable seafood policy.

While we continue to work on market-based ways to reduce overexploitation of sharks, CI is also working in seascapes around the world to develop and implement policies that ensure responsible management of shark populations and fisheries as a whole.

Peter Seligmann

We have begun to turn the tide for shark conservation, but we need your help. By making sustainable seafood choices— and refraining from consuming shark products altogether — you can reduce the global demand for these products. Together, our choices — and our voices — can continue to build momentum for the conservation not only of these fascinating creatures, but also of the oceans on which we all rely.

Peter Seligmann is the chairman and CEO of Conservation International.

Wardens assigned to the Philippines' Turtle Islands sanctuary patrol for poachers and collect data through activities like turtle tagging. (© CI/Photo by Rina Bernabe)

In 2011, a record-breaking 1.44 million green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) eggs were laid on Baguan Island in the Philippine Turtle Islands. A good sign for sea turtles, to be sure — but what does it mean for the 6,000 impoverished human residents who share these islands with the turtles?

The Turtle Islands is a municipality of six small islands in the province of Tawi-Tawi in western Mindanao. For many people, Mindanao brings to mind stories of bombings and military-rebel encounters, kidnappings and the never-ending secessionist war being waged by various Muslim groups — including the dreaded Al-Qaeda affiliated Abu Sayyaf. In fact, most parts of Mindanao seem to be permanently included in the travel advisories of almost all foreign governments.

Many of the Turtle Islands’ current residents fled mainland Mindanao to escape these conflicts and find peace. Although the islands are part of the Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area — a sanctuary for sea turtles that is jointly managed by the Philippines and Malaysia — these refugees displaced the turtles from their nesting beaches, and communities harvested eggs for trade on the neighboring Malaysian-held island of Sabah.

For many years, the Turtle Islands were a free-for-all for turtle and egg poachers, illegal foreign trawl fishers, and locals using destructive fishing methods like dynamite and cyanide fishing. Since the islands are far from the center of political and administrative power, the area was devoid of even basic government services and support, and implementation of the laws was more of an exception than the rule. A local resident jokingly described the Turtle Islands as “a place of 6,000 people and 12,000 guns.”

Each morning on Baguan Island in the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary, the beach still shows the tracks the turtles make as they crawl across the sand to lay their eggs.(© A.G. Saño)

These were just a few of the challenges that previous conservation efforts in the Turtle Islands have had to deal with over the years, and this was the backdrop when Conservation International (CI) began working there in 2007. The situation was so complex that when I first set foot on the islands in 2008, I thought, “This place is one of our conservation sites? Is my boss crazy?”

The following years proved to be very challenging in reinstituting turtle and marine conservation measures in the Turtle Islands. Long neglected by the government, the community had low regard for conservation and governance. Many people initially viewed conservation as a threat to their sources of food and income.

However, people are beginning to realize that it is possible for sea turtles and humans to co-exist here, and the situation is improving. In order to convince communities that sea turtle conservation is in their best interest, we are engaging stakeholders in dialogues and consultations, helping them rediscover the traditional cultural values of these turtles and emphasizing that their help is essential to save the turtles from extinction. 

CI is also supporting alternative sources of income in communities, providing small fishers with startup capital to free them from taking high-interest loans; women with small convenience stores and equipment and materials for traditional mat-weaving; and a local youth group with tools and materials for printing shirts and making handicrafts from recycled plastic and driftwood.

In order to make the Turtle Islands a true haven for turtles and people alike, there is still a lot of work to be done. One major challenge continues to be adequate law enforcement, which is often difficult in remote yet resource-rich areas.

Since there is no court in the Turtle Islands (the nearest is in the Tawi-Tawi capital of Bonggao, 16 to 18 hours travel by boat), poachers and illegal fishers apprehended within the 12,036-hectare (29,741-acre) Baguan Island strict protection zone are not currently being sent to jail. Instead, they are only given warnings and made to do community service, such as cleaning the beaches of driftwood and garbage blocking the nesting areas. Fortunately, we have helped make some progress on this front by assisting in delineating the Baguan Island strict protection zone and facilitating the policy that allowed the deployment of Philippine Marines and Coast Guard to the area.

As shown by the initial results of our work, we seem to be on the right path. Last year’s 28-year record high of turtle nesting in Baguan is a source of pride for us at CI, our partners, and most especially the community in the Turtle Islands. (To see nesting turtles in action, check out this video made by a Philippine videographer visiting the Turtle Islands.)

Orlando Maliwanag is the sea turtle corridor coordinator for Conservation International-Philippines. He is based in the Turtle Islands for six months every year to coordinate CI’s program in the field.

Children outside village in the Kanuku Mmountains, Guyana. (© CI/photo by Haroldo Castro)

It is hard for me to believe that 25 years have passed since the snowy, late January evening when Conservation International (CI) was founded in Room 21 of the historic Tabard Inn in Washington, D.C.

On that night, my longtime friend and colleague Spencer Beebe and I were gathered with a few brave souls who agreed with our views on the roles of science, economics and local communities in international conservation efforts. Together, we were willing to take the leap of faith to create the organization that has been changing the face of conservation for a quarter-century.

In the beginning, we had nothing. Forty staff members worked out of three different houses and a tiny borrowed office in downtown Washington, D.C., fueled by our commitment to the cause and our unwavering belief that we were fighting the good fight. We borrowed money and we said that, no matter what, we would find a way to make this thing work.

And, little by little, we did. Some loyal supporters stepped in with gifts that allowed us to really get started. And when the MacArthur Foundation stood by us and confirmed our cause with their support, there was no looking back.

In our first year, we broke new ground by signing the first-ever debt for nature swap agreement with the government of Bolivia — just the first of many solutions we would pioneer in the years to come. Since then, we’ve continued to innovate and scale up our efforts at a rapid pace. And through it all, we have stayed true to the ideals we’ve held since the beginning — our foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration remains as strong as ever.

In many ways, that January evening feels like only yesterday. But to reflect on the many, many people, places and partners that have had a hand in authoring the story of CI, I realize what a rich history we have been writing together. To look back now at the many conservation milestones and victories we have realized, it’s both gratifying to see just how far CI has come — and humbling to consider just how far we have yet to go.

Peter Seligmann

But on the strength of the successes we will continue to forge together, I know that our vision of a healthy blue planet supported by a green development path has never been more within our reach. And with your continued support, I look forward to writing the next chapter of this amazing story together.

Peter Seligmann is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Conservation International. Learn more about CI’s first 25 years on our anniversary page.

A coral reef in the Verde Island Passage, Philippines. (© CI/ photo by Sterling Zumbrunn)

My career has taken me all over the world — from diving in the freezing waters of the Antarctic while studying ice ecology to working with the remote country of Kiribati in the central Pacific to help protect their marine resources for future generations. I am a specialist in undersea technology and exploration, and have logged thousands of hours SCUBA diving in all five oceans.

I have also lectured across the globe, and this past weekend I once again found myself in one of the more high pressure environments an ocean scientist can be found: speaking in front of the top business and government leaders at the preeminent global economic conference.

For the third year in a row, I have had the privilege to attend the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, along with over 1,600 business leaders, 40 heads of state and hundreds of leaders from academia, the media and non-profit organizations — including my good friend and fellow ocean scientist and explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle.

During the conference I was able to attend various sessions, discussions and debates in subjects ranging from energy consumption to food security. My main role at WEF, however is heading up its Ocean Governance council, an extremely exciting and rewarding position that has allowed me to bring together representatives from diverse backgrounds.

CI Chief Ocean Scientist and World Bank President Robert Zoellick participate in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum.

Being able to convene with these business leaders, policy makers and scientists, it seems that the oceans have finally arrived on the global agenda and are beginning to garner the attention they deserve. While in Davos, I participated in a panel called “The Ocean Solution,” along with Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank Group; Clarence Otis Jr., chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants; Koji Sekimizu, the secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization; and John Micklethwait, the editor-in-chief of the Economist. Our main focus was to answer the question: With the health of mankind closely linked to the health of oceans, how can growth and development be reconciled with conservation?

During this discussion, I stressed a point that I try to reinforce whenever I talk about the future of humanity: The oceans are the world’s greatest resource and have the potential to address the needs of a growing human population.

The oceans provide a large number of ecosystem services, including the provision of biodiversity, clean water, food and oxygen. Over 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe is produced by the oceans, and over 1 billion people rely on fish as a key source of nutrition. Acting as the Earth’s primary life support system, the oceans make the planet a livable and prosperous place for everyone. However, as demands upon the oceans rise, their health and ability to provide these services is diminished.

Our dialogue during the panel addressed the issues on a number of different dimensions: measuring and benchmarking ocean health, linking ocean conservation and development, and promoting sustainable business practices.

Having a greater understanding of those first two dimensions is something that will occur sooner than most people know. Later this year, the Ocean Health Index — the first global measure of the ocean’s health – will be released. Led by an extensive team of scientists worldwide, the index is broken out into 10 goals which include food provision, tourism and recreation, livelihoods and biodiversity and will allow scientists, policy makers and business leaders to understand and address the health of the ocean on a local, regional and global scale.

Greg Stone

Discussing these important issues at Davos, I am very optimistic that we can address the problems the ocean faces and take the actions necessary to restore them to a more sustainable level. If we can improve the health of our oceans, they will be an important safety net as we struggle to provide for 9 billion people by the middle of this century.

Greg Stone is CI’s chief scientist for oceans.