An action plan for healthy oceans was launched today as part of the 52^nd Asian Development Bank’s annual board of governors meeting.

The Healthy Oceans Action Plan is a commitment of more than $10 billion that will focus on four key areas, creating inclusive livelihoods and business opportunities in sustainable tourism and fisheries, protecting and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems and key rivers.

ADB’s Director in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Bruce Dunn says it’s critical that every effort is made to ensure our oceans have a fighting chance.

“We feel it’s absolutely critical, this has been area that has not had enough attention and over time, we’ve seen major impacts on the ocean from over-fishing, from unstainable ocean development, also pollution and in the future, climate change will have a massive impact, in fact by 2052 unless we can keep climate change to below 1.5 degrees, over 90 percent of the regions coral reefs will be affected, so I imagine for Fiji and the Pacific, that’s devastating.”

According to Dunn, ocean ecosystems have been pushed back to the brink of collapse by various threats.

Unless immediate action is taken, about 90 percent of the Pacific and Asia’s coral reefs will be dead by 2050.

Meanwhile, ADB President, Takehiko Nakao says the prosperity of the region depends on healthy oceans and sustainable development.

He says we must work toward a more resilient future where humans and oceans thrive together.