World Coastal Forum leaders warn of accelerating global ecosystem collapse

The World Coastal Forum opened in Yancheng with global leaders calling for urgent action on coastal protection and green growth. The European’s Editor-at-Large, Stanley Johnson, was among the delegates

The 2025 World Coastal Forum opened in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, yesterday with governments, multilateral organisations and research bodies warning that unchecked development is pushing the planet’s coastal ecosystems towards collapse.

A landmark State of the World’s Coastal Ecosystems report, the first global review of its kind, found seagrass beds, coral reefs, mollusc reefs and kelp forests have suffered average annual net losses of more than one per cent for half a century. A companion release, the second batch of the International Case Collection on Synergistic Enhancement of Coastal Ecological Disaster Reduction, underlined what it described as the scale of the challenge.

The study, produced by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, identified climate change, urbanisation and overfishing as the chief drivers, alongside agriculture, mineral extraction and energy development. Although 12.4 per cent of coastal areas are now protected, the report found that conservation and restoration remain “far from sufficient”, constrained by underfunding, technological gaps and weak policy. It added that stronger measures are required to restore fisheries resources and advance green shipping technologies.

Yang Zhen, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and executive vice chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, told delegates that economic growth could no longer come at the expense of the sea and urged more countries to join the World Coastal Forum Partnership Initiative, established in 2023, to “share development opportunities and achieve green development”.

The ultimate goal was a future of “blue skies, green lands and clear waters for generations to come”, he added.

Xin Changxing, party secretary of Jiangsu province, said local efforts were being stepped up to strengthen ecological barriers, promote sustainable marine use and accelerate green transformation, pledging that the move would “benefit humanity”.

Scott Morris, vice president of the Asian Development Bank, said the “blue economy” offered a pathway to growth that did not sacrifice natural systems. 

“Since 2019, ADB has committed more than $3.8 billion to ocean health projects. We are equally committed to advancing coastal resilience — through mangrove restoration, hybrid green-grey infrastructure, and ecosystem-based adaptation,” he said.

“One of the most powerful demonstrations of what is possible is right here in Yancheng. The Jiangsu Yancheng Wetlands Protection Project, co-financed by ADB and the Global Environment Facility, restored and rehabilitated thousands of hectares of degraded wetlands, controlled invasive species, and converted fishponds back into natural habitats.”

The two-day event, co-hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial Government, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, has drawn 25 partners from 14 countries and regions under the theme Beautiful Coasts: Ecological Priority and Green Development.

READ MORE: ‘Stanley Johnson on China, the IUCN, and the future of the World Coastal Forum‘. Stanley Johnson traces the Forum’s development, from its inaugural conference in Yangcheng to proposals for embedding it within the IUCN, and examines what’s now at stake for the future of the world’s coastal regions

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_{Main image: Delegates at the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Coastal Forum in Yancheng, where new partners were welcomed into the Forum’s Partnership initiative. The European’s Editor-at-Large, Stanley Johnson, is pictured. Credit: World Coastal Forum.}