UAE joins Global Ocean Alliance for 30by30 conservation target

UAE is the latest country to join the UK-initiated Global Ocean Alliance, a group of 32 countries working to protect the ocean and improve the livelihood of coastal communities

The UAE is the latest country to join the UK initiated Global Ocean Alliance, a group of 32 countries working to protect the ocean and improve the livelihoods of coastal communities. As its core goal, the Alliance calls for safeguarding at least 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030 through marine protected areas. The UAE is the first Middle Eastern country to endorse the target.

Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Cabinet Member and Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The ocean offers invaluable services to mankind, from food production to tourism to regulating global temperatures and weather, and hundreds of millions of jobs depend on ocean’s health. We simply cannot afford to lose these services, and therefore collective action is a must if we are to stop the deterioration of ocean’s health as a result of climate change, pollution, and overfishing.”

He added: “We will work together with other members of the Alliance to achieve the 30by30 target and preserve a healthy ocean for future generations.”