CCAMLR Convention | UNEP - UN Environment Programme Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living ResourcesA OverviewAntarctica is surrounded by an unbroken and dynamic body of water known as the Southern Ocean, which constitutes about 10% of the world's total ocean surface For about 200 years, Antarctica's resources have been unsystematically harvested In many cases the intense level of exploitation resulted in the severe depletion of harvested stocks, as was the case for fur and elephant seals in the 19th century, and whales
Protecting Restoring Blue Carbon Ecosystems - UNEP We work to protect and restore coastal ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems for the sustainable provision of ecosystem services to people and environment Mangroves and seagrass meadows are coastal ecosystems that cover a small portion of the total ocean area but collectively are widely distributed on every continent except Antarctica Mangroves are found in 123 countries worldwide with an estimated area of 15 2 million hectares while seagrasses occur in 159 countries covering over 30 million
Rebuilding the ozone layer: how the world came together for the . . . - UNEP The remarkable story of the battle to save the ozone layer starts with science In the mid-1970s, scientists warned that man-made chemicals in everyday products like aerosols, foams, refrigerators and air-conditioners were harming the ozone layer At that time, they didn’t know the scale of the problem But in 1985, a hole was confirmed in the ozone layer over Antarctica The world’s natural sun shield, which protects humans, plants, animals and ecosystems from excessive ultraviolet
Could microbes, locked in Arctic ice for millennia, unleash a . . . - UNEP Some researchers believe the outbreak is a sign of things to come As climate change rapidly warms the Artic, scientists say it could unleash a wave of potentially deadly microbes that for centuries have been trapped in ice
Ozone layer recovery is on track, helping avoid global warming . . . - UNEP NAIROBI, 9 January 2023 – The ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, with the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals already benefitting efforts to mitigate climate change This is the conclusion of a UN-backed panel of experts, presented today at the American Meteorological Society’s 103rd annual meeting Examining novel technologies such as geoengineering for the first time, the panel warns of unintended impacts on the ozone layer
About Montreal Protocol - UNEP The Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is the landmark multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals referred to as ozone depleting substances (ODS) When released into the atmosphere, those chemicals damage the stratospheric ozone layer, Earth’s protective shield that protects humans and the environment from harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun
Annual Report 2023 - UNEP - UN Environment Programme In 2023, the world saw new highs of greenhouse gas emissions, temperature records tumbling and climate impacts arriving stronger and faster At the same time, most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were off track at the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
State of the marine environment in Antarctica - UNEP Human activities have had a major effect on the balance of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, this can be seen by damage of large agae such as kelp that is caused by increased UV penetration