UN Secretary General declares 'Ocean Emergency'

Storm clouds on the horizon. Missed that one © Daria Blackwell

Ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, António Guterres said the world must turn the tide of rising sea levels, ocean heating, acidification and plastics pollution.

"We cannot have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underscored at the start of the 2022 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and Sustainably Use the Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources for Sustainable Development. In his opening comments, Mr Guterres urged world leaders and all stakeholders to invest in sustainable ocean economies for food, renewable energy and livelihoods.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, noting his special affinity for the oceans which he shares with his fellow Portuguese nationals (he is from Lisbon), cited the poet Fernando Pessoa, who wrote: "God wanted the land to be one. What the sea unites, no longer tear asunder." Describing the many aspects of the 'ocean emergency' that the international community is confronting, he noted that while global heating is pushing ocean temperatures to record levels, creating fiercer and more frequent storms, sea levels are rising, and low-lying island nations and major coastal cities face inundation. Coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses and wetlands, are being degraded, while pollution from land is creating vast coastal dead zones. Noting that plastic waste is now found in the most remote regions and deepest ocean trenches, he cautioned that without drastic action, plastic could outweigh all the fish in the oceans by 2050. One mass of plastic in the Pacific is bigger than France, he pointed out.

Recalling the last Ocean Conference five years ago and its call for action to reverse the decline in ocean health, he pointed out the community efforts and international partnerships that have been working to create marine protected areas for the recovery of fisheries and biodiversity. Also noting significant progress on a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, Mr Guterres highlighted the new treaty being negotiated to address the global plastics crisis as well as the recently concluded World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on ending harmful fishery subsidies.

"But let's have no illusions," he cautioned. Pointing out that Sustainable Development Goal 14 receives the least funding of any of the Goals, he stressed that sustainable business models are vital for ocean economies to operate in harmony with the marine environment. The ocean must become a model on how to manage the global commons, he said, underscoring the need to scale up effective area-based conservation measures and integrated coastal zone management. He made an urgent call to all stakeholders to invest in sustainable ocean economies for food, renewable energy and livelihoods.

This article has been provided by the courtesy of Ocean Cruising Club.