International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) services

There is an urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions in line with the most drastic cuts proposed in the 4th Report of the IPCC. However, even this will not guarantee that the Ocean will not be severely impacted by climate change by the middle of the century or earlier. There is also a pressing need to develop carbon sinks to reduce current CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The current target of 450ppm CO2 in the atmosphere and/or 2oC temperature will not guarantee the viability of some marine ecosystems.

A crisis on a global scale demands a solution of equal magnitude. IPSO believes that Marine Reserves are our single best hope for averting disaster at an Earth System level. Marine Reserves are the marine equivalent of national parks. Based on the same scientifically-developed model we use to manage terrestrial over-exploitation, Marine Reserves are protected no-take areas. They are the Ocean equivalent of setting aside areas of the rainforest, for example, so that they can continue to create global oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.