Published date: 21-Jun-2022
Regional seas and coastal ecosystems, located either entirely or partly within the UNECE region, face growing environmental pressures caused by climate change, the increasing pollution loads, tourism, fishing, mining of minerals, and energy production (such as offshore wind power plants). These pressures risk to adversely impact the coastal and marine ecosystems and reduce the services and goods they provide to the population within and beyond the region - such as fish, recreation or protection against increasingly variable weather events.
Reflecting on these pressures, which arise in many regions, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for new and more effective partnerships for the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems.