Links to SDG Goals

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Context

There are a number of global conventions and United Nations policy initiatives for sustainable development, conservation and environmental management that provide a context for the monitoring of coral reef ecosystems (e.g. UN Sustainable Development Goals, Convention on Biological Diversity, among others).

As part of this data training course for the Western Indian Ocean, it is important to know the context these conventions and global initiatives and understand how coral reef monitoring data can be used to evaluate and inform these policy initiatives.

Links to SDG Goals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals set out an ambitious list of themes (17) with 169 specific targets.

Numerous efforts attempt to link the direct and indirect benefits of coral reef health to SDGs, including those that contribute to (or “enable”) SDGs related to environmental and social targets.

In order to inform whether specific goals or targets of such policies are being met, there is a need for systematic monitoring and data exchange for evaluation and reporting.

Societal justification for monitoring coral reefs

The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) was formed to provide the best available information on the status and trends of coral reef ecosystems on a global scale. Although this information is valuable for local, national and regional assessments, it also has direct relevance for a number of UN sustainable development initiatives and international conventions, including:

Sustainable Development Goals SDG 14, to “Conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources”. Key targets include: 14.2, to sustainably manage and protect ecosystems and strengthen resilience; 14.3, to minimize and address impacts of ocean acidification; and 14.5, to place 10% of marine areas under effective management regimes. As a flagship ecosystem, natural and social data on the condition, uses, and benefits from coral reefs may populate the indicator framework for a broad range of SDG targets, including for economic and social benefits, management, planning, knowledge and research.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - - succeeding the coral reefs are a flagship ecosystem for Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Target 10, and the focus of Decision XII/23. the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted by all Parties in December 2022 where the Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) was identified as a Headline Indicator for Goal A on the status of ecosystems. An improved GCRMN will provide the core indicators on the status of coral reefs (i.e. coral cover, algae cover, fish biomass) globally.

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - coral reefs, with polar systems, are a flagship ecosystem for ‘catastrophic and irreversible decline’ and serve as a sentinel ecosystem for achieving the Paris Agreement and limiting warming to less than 2°C. Improved coral reef data may enable motivation and tracking of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) - in Resolution 2/12 on coral reefs, UN member states called on UN Environment to “support further development of coral reef indicators, regional coral reef assessments, and preparation of a global report through GCRMN”.

Regional agreements - the importance of coral reefs is highlighted in tropical Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (such as in the Caribbean and South Pacific), and relevant Large Marine Ecosystems (such as the Agulhas-Somali Current LME). Providing core indicators on coral reef health for reporting on their status will help countries report on their obligations.

Next Steps

For some additional context on Global Observation Networks and Essential Ocean Variables go to the next page here