3: Conserving, protecting, and managing marine ecosystems

Overview & Synopsis

Conservation, protection, and sustainable management of marine ecosystems are reflected in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14.2 and 14.5, but rely on international instruments and initiatives for their full implementation. This chapter analyses targets 14.2 and 14.5 in light of relevant developments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as the mutual supportiveness between these SDG 14 targets and the CBD Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in the context of the international obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the CBD objectives on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. As a result of such analysis, this chapter sheds light on opportunities for the implementation of SDGs 14.2 and 14.5 through the examination of further guidance provided by several instruments and processes under the CBD and through coalitions of like-minded States, which can be further facilitated by the substantive and procedural aspects of the GBF.