TARGET 10 - Technical Rationale extended (provided in document COP/10/INF/12/Rev.1)

Technical rationale: In addition to warming caused by the greenhouse effect, increased atmospheric CO2 leads to ocean acidification.³⁴,³⁵ Both pressures need to be considered in elaborating policy response options to climate change for coral reefs and other vulnerable ecosystems. However, given ecological and policy inertias, it is important to urgently reduce the other anthropogenic pressures on these vulnerable ecosystems, such as land-based pollution/sedimentation, unsustainable harvesting and physical pressures, so as to increase their resilience to climate change and ocean acidification. Given this urgency a deadline for 2015 has adopted for this target.

Implementation: By addressing those anthropogenic pressures which are most amenable to rapid positive changes, it may be possible to give vulnerable ecosystems time to cope with the pressures caused by climate change. This would include activities such as reducing pollution, overexploitation and harvesting practices which have negative consequences on ecosystems. Multiple programmes of work, including those on climate change and biodiversity, and marine and coastal biodiversity, are relevant to this target.

Indicators and baselines: Indicators for this target include the Marine Trophic Index, the incidence of human-induced ecosystem failure, the health and well-being of communities who depend directly on local ecosystem goods and services, and trends in coral bleaching. Other possible indicators include the Ecological Footprint and related concepts. Process indicators could include the number of plans, programmes and strategies related to the protection and management of marine and coastal ecosystems.