9 / 60
9
.
A better understanding of marine
ecosystem
services
enables
of
informed policy choices for sustainable
development. It is therefore critically
important
that
assessments
are
undertaken in ways that support their
integration into SDG policy-making. Their
co-construction through a partnership
between stakeholders, policy-makers,
the public and technical experts is likely to
support SDG delivery.
Development policy making capturing
the benefits provided by a healthy ocean
can build on existing global initiatives
and experiences, as well as conventional
national policy frameworks and planning
processes. This will require a shift
in paradigm: to one that recognises
conservation as a contribution towards
sustainable development, rather than
an obstacle to it. The understanding of
natural ecosystems as an asset brings
with it the opportunity of protecting and
investing into it.
There is a growing recognition among
world and local leaders that ecosystems
are indeed our shared factory. Marine and
coastal ecosystems are being counted on
to produce many of the essential goods
and services that help us achieve the
SDGs. Only with reliable, objective and
widely available data can we harness
this powerful, sustainable and global
natural factory to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals we have set for the
people of this planet.
Demi-UNEP/Still Pictures
22
.