Protection of Coral Reefs for Sustainable Livelihoods and Development

Urges States, within their national jurisdictions, and the competent international organizations, within their mandates, given the imperative for action, to take all practical steps at all levels to protect coral reefs and related ecosystems for sustainable livelihoods and development, including immediate and concerted global, regional and local action to respond to the challenges and to address the adverse impact of climate change, including through mitigation and adaptation, as well as of ocean acidification, on coral reefs and related ecosystems;

Also urges States to formulate, adopt and implement integrated and comprehensive approaches for the management of coral reefs and related ecosystems under their jurisdiction, encourages regional cooperation in accordance with international law regarding the protection and enhancement of the resilience of coral reefs, and in that respect calls upon development partners to support such efforts in developing countries, including through the provision of financial resources, capacity-building, environmentally sound technologies and know-how on mutually agreed terms, as well as the exchange of relevant scientific, technical, socio-economic and legal information, to enable developing countries to take all action necessary for the protection of their coral reefs and related ecosystems, as appropriate;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the importance of protecting coral reefs and related ecosystems for sustainable livelihoods and development, including an analysis of the economic, social and development benefits of protecting coral reefs, in the context of the themes and objectives of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, for consideration by the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session and for the information of other forums;

Also requests the Secretary-General, taking into consideration existing reports in preparing that report, to identify potential actions consistent with international law needed to protect coral reefs and related ecosystems, including proposals for coordinated and coherent action across the United Nations system, taking into account the views of Member States, the agencies and programmes of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme, and relevant international organizations, including the International Coral Reef Initiative and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as the outcomes and decisions of relevant multilateral environmental agreements.