Water covers most of the planet. The ocean regulates the air we breathe and affects the weather. Yet sea levels are "predicted to increase more in the next thirty years than they have in the previous century," the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change notes.
In a May 10, 2022 blog post, they quote Loreley Picourt, secretary general of the Ocean & Climate Platform and the co-focal point for Ocean and Coastal Zones for the Marrakech Partnership-Global Climate Action Agenda at UN Climate Change, as saying that "the speed of this [irreversible sea level rise] and its associated risks (such as erosion and submersion, loss of coastal habitats and ecosystems, salinization of land and groundwater) will be considerably slowed down [if] warming levels are kept below 1.5°C.”
This is important: sea level rise is happening, and once it happens it is generally irreversible, but it can be slowed.
The article goes on to say:
"There are solutions available today, including Nature-based Solutions (NbS), such as planting mangroves and salt marshes, which not only contribute to carbon sequestration but have huge biodiversity benefits."
It adds:
"The Sea’ties Declaration was launched during the One Ocean Summit earlier this year, and has so far been signed by 40 mayors, governors and city networks across the world. It calls for an acceleration in the transformation of cities and their territories, highlighting four priorities: the mobilisation of science and observation systems; the integration of societal issues within adaptation plans; the fostering of adaptive and hybrid solutions; and the increase of public funding and private investments for adaptation to sea level rise."
Those four priorities, in other words:
- scientists keeping track of changes in the physical environment, as that is the problem that needs to be fixed
- addressing social issues that people care about, or else they won't get on board with adaptation plans that affect them in ways they care about
- actually coming up with climate solutions
- adapting to all the changes we can't stop, which will require money
However
Ben See posted Twitter threads with these articles:
International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, UNESCO, 26 July
Drowned? Existing mangroves could fall to sea level rise by 2050 by Michael Taylor, Thomson Reuters Foundation. 5 June 2020
Shocked scientists find 400km of dead and damaged mangroves in Gulf of Carpentaria, Graham Readfearn, Guardian, Oct 3 2019
IUCN advises “in danger” status for three World Heritage sites, IUCN, 7 Jun 2019
Sarker, S., Reeve, R., Thompson, J. et al. Are we failing to protect threatened mangroves in the Sundarbans world heritage ecosystem?. Sci Rep 6, 21234 (2016).
Avoiding mangrove destruction by avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. Ken Caldeira. August 27, 2012. 109 (36) 14287-14288
Mangrove-dependent Animals Globally Threatened, American Institute of Biological Sciences, July 7, 2009
A half-million dollars won't beat back climate change
$500K Sand Dune Designed to Protect Coastal Homes Washes Away in Just 3 Days, Dan Ladden-Hall, Daily Beast, Mar. 11, 2024
See also
"Re-envisioning Environment". It's an 8-minute read on Medium. Medium lets you read a certain number of stories for free every month. You may also consider a paid membership on the platform.
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