World's first coastal ecosystem status report released at WCF

The "Global Coastal Ecosystem Status Report," jointly compiled by China's Ministry of Natural Resources and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, was officially released at the opening ceremony of the World Coastal Forum (WCF). The report is the world's first systematic assessment of the status of coastal ecosystems.

Coastal ecosystems, located in critical transitional zones connecting land, freshwater and marine environments, are areas of highly concentrated global biodiversity and ecosystem service value. They provide essential support for socio-economic development and human well-being. The report reveals that the global distribution of coastal ecosystems exhibits significant zonal characteristics: tropical regions contain 88 percent of the world's seagrass beds, 97 percent of mangroves and 99 percent of coral reefs; temperate regions are home to 69 percent of coastal salt marshes, as well as the majority of kelp forests and mollusk reefs.

According to the report, over the past half-century, global coastal ecosystems have experienced varying degrees of degradation: seagrass beds, coral reefs, mollusk reefs and kelp forests have suffered the most severe degradation, with an average net loss rate exceeding 1 percent per year. Mangroves and coastal salt marshes have also experienced some degradation, while over 50 percent of sandy and muddy coasts are in a state of siltation or erosion. The population sizes of biological communities dependent on these ecosystems have declined, with the proportion of threatened species exceeding 10 percent for most groups. For seabirds, marine invertebrates and sea turtles, the proportion of threatened species exceeds 30 percent.

The report identifies coastal urbanization, climate change and fisheries resource exploitation as the primary factors driving the degradation of coastal ecosystems. Additionally, activities such as agriculture, marine mineral and energy development, and marine transportation also pose disturbances to coastal ecosystems. With the continued socio-economic development of coastal areas, these impacts are expected to intensify without effective intervention measures.

In the face of these challenging trends, the international community has made active efforts in conservation, restoration and sustainable development, but significant challenges remain. Currently, 12.4 percent of coastal areas are under protection, though overall conservation efforts need strengthening, and the protection of typical ecosystems requires further improvement.

Restoration practices have been implemented in many countries, but their scale remains insufficient and is constrained by technology, funding, and policies. The report proposes to deepen the assessment of ecosystem distribution and long-term changes, expand in-situ conservation areas and promote the restoration and scaling up of degraded ecosystems and advance green and low-carbon development in coastal regions.

Based on the latest global monitoring data and systematic literature, the report is the first comprehensive compilation of the distribution and changes of 13 major types of coastal ecosystems worldwide, establishing a baseline for assessing the status of coastal ecosystems. It analyzes the main factors affecting coastal ecosystems and biological communities, revealing the pressures and risks posed by the combined effects of human activities and climate change.