UNDERWATER LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM DYING THROUGH IGNORANCE, UNEP SURVEY ASSERTS

UNDERWATER LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM DYING THROUGH IGNORANCE, UNEP SURVEY ASSERTS

First ‘World Atlas of Seagrasses’ Reveals Vital Role of Marine Meadows

LONDON/NAIROBI, 14 October (UNEP) - Manatees, dugongs and green sea turtles are just some of the growing list of already threatened species at risk from the destruction of ocean seagrass, a new report has revealed.

The World Atlas of Seagrasses, prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) provides the first ever global estimate for seagrasses worldwide:  177,000 square kilometres, an area just two thirds the size of the United Kingdom.

This global survey of the underwater meadows of seagrass that skirt the world's coasts reveals that 15 per cent of this unique marine ecosystem has been lost in the last 10 years.

The findings give new urgency to protect and conserve these important habitats, which are threatened by runoff of nutrients and sediments from human activities on land, boating, land reclamation and other construction in the coastal zone, dredge-and-fill activities and destructive fisheries practices.

"We now have a global, scientific view of where seagrasses occur and what is happening to them", said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director.  "Unfortunately, the scientists have presented us with a worrying story.  In many cases, these vitally important undersea meadows are being needlessly destroyed for short-term gain without a true understanding of their significance."

Mr. Toepfer said the World Summit on Sustainable Development adopted, in the area of biodiversity, a commitment to reverse the trend of losses by 2010.  "To achieve this”, he said, “we need hard facts on which to base decisions.  The World Atlas of Seagrasses meets that need for a vital marine ecosystem whose importance has largely been overlooked until now."

Seagrasses are a mixed group of true flowering plants -- not seaweed -– that grow submerged in large meadows in both tropical and temperate seas.

They are a functional group of about 60 species of underwater marine flowering plants.  Thousands more associated marine plant and animal species utilize seagrass habitat.  They range from the strap-like blades of eelgrass in the Sea of Japan, at more than 4 metres long, to the tiny, 2-3 centimetres, rounded leaves of sea vine in the deep tropical waters of Brazil.

"Seagrasses are quite possibly the most widespread shallow marine ecosystems in the world, says Ed Green, one of the co-editors of the Atlas. “Yet, there are few places where seagrass meadows are protected.”

According to the new UNEP-WCMC Atlas, seagrass meadows should be considered one of the most important shallow marine ecosystems to humans, playing a vital role in fisheries, protecting coral reefs by binding sediments, cleaning coastal waters and providing coastal defence from erosion.

For more information about the Atlas, including maps and photographs, go to http://www.unep-wcmc.org/marine/seagrassatlas/, or www.unep.org.

For more related information, please contact:

At UNEP:  Robert Bisset, UNEP Spokesperson for Europe, tel: 33 1 44377613, Mobile: 33 6 22725842; e-mail:  robert.bisset@unep.fr.

At UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge:  Will Rogowski, Head of Marketing and Communications, tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314; e-mail: will.rogowski@unep-wcmc.org; or Rachel Holdsworth/Gayle Nicol, tel: 01954 202789; e-mail: rachel@holdsworth-associates.co.uk.

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