The relationship between cities and ocean sustainability was highlighted at the Brazil Pavilion during COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The panel "Cities, ports, and conservation: integrated effort for resilient and climate-adapted cities" brought together representatives from the federal government, subnational governments, the private sector, and civil society, and marked the launch of the publication "Ocean Without Mysteries – Building Blue Cities."
The e-book, produced by the Brazilian Alliance for Ocean Literacy (coordinated by UNIFESP, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and UNESCO) in partnership with the Grupo Boticário Foundation for Nature Protection and supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), presents solutions for making cities bluer in areas such as education, economy, tourism, climate resilience, water and sanitation, health, and ecosystem conservation.
Ronaldo Christofoletti, a member of the Network of Nature Conservation Specialists (RECN) and a professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), coordinated the panel at COP28. He explains that the publication aims to guide cities toward ocean-related sustainability. The specialist emphasizes that the document was developed with contributions from municipal representatives from all regions of the country. “We included suggestions for practical actions in various areas, as well as success stories and reference projects to inspire Brazilian cities to become bluer,” he says.
Christofoletti hopes the document will help expand ocean literacy in Brazil, emphasizing the role of marine-coastal conservation in adapting to climate change. “The extreme events that occurred this year showed that we must take strong action to adapt to climate change. Conserving and sustainably using the ocean are fundamental strategies for facing this major challenge. The most interesting aspect is that all cities can become bluer, regardless of their distance from the coast,” Christofoletti notes.
The concept of a “blue city” involves environmental, social, economic, cultural sustainability, and governance in municipalities—integrating public policies, civic actions, and ocean-connected institutions. “Without a healthy, resilient, and sustainable ocean, we will not succeed in preventing the current situation from worsening. In this sense, every marine environment matters and must be cared for and preserved,” says Janaína Bumbeer, project manager at the Grupo Boticário Foundation.
Brazil and the Sea
Brazil has 7,367 kilometers of coastline, home to 443 coastal cities that house about 25% of the population. These municipalities are on the front lines of the battle against climate change, especially regarding the impacts of rising sea levels. Experts emphasize that conservation efforts in coastal-marine environments can help reduce global warming while also increasing municipal resilience to the new climate scenario.
“Mangroves, for example, can store up to four times more carbon per square meter than other ecosystems and need to be better protected and valued. When we consider that Brazil has the second-largest mangrove area in the world, we realize the scale of our responsibility,” says Bumbeer. The Grupo Boticário Foundation manager notes that coral reefs are another ecosystem requiring attention. “In addition to their immense importance for biodiversity, the economy, and tourism, coral reefs can also reduce the energy of waves reaching the coast by up to 90%,” she explains.
Education and Ocean Literacy
Among the public policies that can inspire municipalities is the Ocean Literacy Law adopted by several Brazilian cities, which integrates ocean education into the municipal curriculum. The initiative is already recognized by UNESCO as a global public policy that can serve as an example for other countries. “Brazil was the first country in the world to have a municipality include ocean literacy in its school curriculum. Today, 16 other municipalities are integrated into the Blue School project, with many more currently undergoing the approval process,” Christofoletti points out.
The sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN's climate science body, recognizes that many solutions to global challenges lie within the ocean. As such, the report lists a series of initiatives to protect, restore, and sustainably manage natural resources and marine ecosystems. These efforts include the target of protecting up to 30% of the ocean by 2030 and a global treaty to drastically reduce plastic pollution in the seas.
In addition to producing 54% of the oxygen we breathe, the ocean is a major regulator of Earth's climate, absorbing up to 90% of excess heat from the atmosphere and retaining about 25% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted globally.
To download the free e-book, click HERE.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by CicloVivo. The translation is powered by AI.
