MANILA, Philippines, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- An environmental declaration adopted in the Philippines ensures signatories do their part to protect coastal communities from climate change, an official said.
Delegates from 65 countries met in Manila at a global conference on land and ocean connections. A measure signed at the conference, the Manila Declaration, calls for collaborative action to ensure vulnerable coastal communities are protected from climate change.
"It is essential that we sustain our momentum to achieve on-the-ground improvements in the health of ocean and coastal ecosystems, for which the continued and coordinated effort of the international community is vital," Amina Mohamed, deputy executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, said in a statement.
A 24-page report published last week by UNEP highlights economic areas in the marine sector that could realize economic gain through environmentally friendly investments. UNEP said these investments provided a substantial economic opportunity for developing island nations in the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean regions.
The United Nations last year warned the Maldives, a Pacific island nation, that it needs domestic reform and international support to offset climate change risks that threaten to inundate the archipelago.
Rising sea levels and global climate change threaten to submerge the Maldives within decades.
