Overview

The International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification (OA Alliance) brings together governments and organizations from across the globe dedicated to taking urgent action to protect coastal communities and livelihoods from the threat of ocean acidification and other climate- ocean impacts.

Facilitated through the OA Alliance, national, subnational, regional and tribal governments are proactively responding to the impacts of ocean acidification as they create OA Action Plans to effectively promote solutions and advancing knowledge into action.

The OA Alliance has created this Action Plan Toolkit as a guide. The OA Action Toolkit contains both regulatory and non-regulatory actions that members might consider when crafting their own OA Action. Not all OA Action plans will have the same framework or structure, as there is no “one- size fits all” approach.

Some members may choose to write a stand-alone plan, while others may decide to integrate ocean acidification mitigation, adaptation and resiliency actions across existing Climate Action Plans, Ocean Action Plans, Biodiversity or Resilience Goals and Targets, Nationally Determined Contributions pursuant to the Paris Climate Agreement, or decide to integrate and strengthen actions across other applicable management tools.

The Action Toolkit outlines examples of actions that pertain to the five goals of the OA Alliance’s Call to Action:

1.  Advance Scientific Understanding: Improve the understanding of OA globally and within the members’ regions, including support for research and OA observations within their region.
2.  Reduce Causes of OA: Implement actions that will prevent or slow OA through reducing atmospheric emissions of CO2, reducing inputs of land-based pollutants, and other measures.
3.  Build Adaptation and Resiliency: Implement actions to assist ocean-dependent communities and industries, and marine ecosystems to adapt to increasing acidity in marine waters.
4.  Expand Public Awareness: Engage policy makers, scientists and the public on the growing threat posed by OA, as well as local actions that may be taken to address OA.
5.  Build Sustained International Support: Secure sustained funding, nationally and regionally, for ongoing, enhanced, and coordinated research and OA observation systems, to continue to inform governments and others about the increasing impacts of OA.

If you have any resources or specific ideas for actions that would be useful to include in the Action Plan toolkit please contact [email protected].