Research findings by scientists at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) on conserving marine ecosystems were presented at a United Nations meet in Seoul to discuss the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
A communication from the CMFRI here said that the conservation of mangroves and coral reef ecosystems, identification of marine protected areas, and promotion of sustainable marine fishing were highlighted as India’s foremost national priorities at the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) workshop held from September 5 to 8.
The meeting was organised to discuss means to accelerate the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal GBF of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. SOI is a global platform that aims to build partnerships and enhance capacity to achieve global goals in marine and coastal biodiversity, the communication added.
India’s report presented at the meeting highlighted the CMFRI’s efforts to develop a framework for estimation of conservation value of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) to reduce threats to marine biodiversity. As part of this, an area of 34,127.20 sq. km. has been mapped as ESAs, including habitats of mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass, salt marsh, sand dunes, and mudflats.
Shubhadeep Ghosh, Assistant Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and Grinson George, principal scientist and head of the marine biodiversity and environment management division of the CMFRI presented India’s report that included national priorities and targets for conservation of marine biodiversity.
The report referred to the CMFRI’s research on developing a deep learning-enabled image recognition model to classify underwater images of corals as a means to achieve the target of restoring ocean ecosystems. Besides, restoration of coral reefs has been undertaken through transplantation in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, and the Lakshadweep regions, said Dr. George while presenting the report.
