Marine and coastal biodiversity

Our prosperity depends to a large extent also on services provided by the oceans and their ecosystems. In global terms, the coastal ecosystems in the tropics play a hugely important role: from coral reefs to seagrass meadows and mangrove forests, these ecosystems support a wealth of plant and animal species.

Their biological diversity contribute significantly to global food security, the climate and to natural coastal protection systems. Humankind is the primary cause of the continual decline of coastal ecosystems as well as for pollution and reduction of water quality.

IKI's approaches to protecting seas and coasts

To better protect our oceans and coastlines in the future, projects of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) work at many levels, from local communities to international policymaking, to achieve the sustainable management and resource-friendly usage of marine regions, to support the restoration of natural ecosystems and to prioritise the preservation of livelihoods for coastal communities.

Coastal protection is one of the cross-cutting issue for many IKI funding areas. Measures for ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) also target the conservation and restoration of mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs that, as natural carbon sinks, also make an important contribution to the mitigation of greenhouse gases.

Documenting and replicating positive solution approaches while learning from local and traditional knowledge are other important aspects of this work.