Side event details

In the side event, we will discuss the topics related to the ecosystem conservation of offshore wetlands and coastal based on the case of seagrass beds and the ecosystems they support. Seagrasses are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world but they often receive little attention.Seagrasses are ecosystem engineers because they modify their environments to create unique habitats. These modifications not only make coastal habitats more suitable for the seagrasses themselves, but also have important effects on other animals and provide ecological functions and a variety of services for humans.Seagrasses provide shelter and food to an incredibly diverse community of animals, from tiny invertebrates to large fish, crabs, turtles, marine mammals and birds. Seagrasses provide many important services to people as well, but many seagrasses’ meadows have been lost because of human activities. Seagrasses have been used to fertilize fields, insulate houses, weave furniture, thatch roofs, make bandages.But it's what they do in their native habitat that has the biggest benefits for humans and the ocean. Seagrasses are in trouble and seagrass losses are projected to have severe impacts on marine biodiversity, the health of other marine ecosystems, and on human livelihoods. More Work need to be done around the world to restore these important ecosystems.The aim of our side event is to call attention on Ecosystem Conservation of Offshore Wetlands and coastline, to promote the management that protects seagrasses focusing on maintaining their biodiversity and the services these habitats provide for ecosystems, and to create opportunities to rebuild and restore seagrass beds.The envisaged outcome is a declaration on the protection and restoration of offshore wetlands. 

The moderators are: John E L Scanlon AO, Chief Executive Officer of the EPI Foundation and Ms. Yingjia Xiao.

Opening remark : Jay Aldous, Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands;Sakhile Silitshena,Head of Science, Policy and Governance of the Convention on Biological Diversity;Jinfeng Zhou,Secretary General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development foundation

Speech: Gabriel Grimsditch,Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range (Dugong MOU);Jisong Wu,Foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science and Engineering;Michael James Crabbe,Professor of Wolfson College, University of Oxford;Yingjia Xiao,Switzerland Youth Representative, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation