Earthshot Prize Awards

Ocean coastlines are crucial hubs of life and biodiversity, essential for our planet’s health. But overfishing, pollution and rising temperatures threaten to destroy these vital ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities.

Coastal waters represent only six percent of the ocean’s surface, but they are home to roughly 70% of all ocean biodiversity. A vast array of animals live among coral reefs, kelp, mangroves and sea grasses. These shores are also home to millions of people, whose villages, towns and cities flourish on the adjacent land, nourished by the sea.

But coastal threats abound. Sewage, plastic, and industrial chemicals pollute the water. Ocean acidification bleaches coral reefs a ghostly white, and unsustainable fishing decimates fish populations. Each of these elements further contributes to the climate crisis. If we lose coastal habitats, we not only lose their capacity to absorb CO2, but also the livelihoods of coastal populations, whose fishers return home with empty nets.