Featured Image Credit: Merco Press
This week, the United Nations is hosting its first large-scale conference on saving and protecting the worlds oceans. The Ocean Conference, began Monday, June 5 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York coinciding with World Oceans Day on June 8. This high level, “game-changing” Conference is focusing on the support and implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
Among the issues at the forefront of discussions at the United Nation’s Ocean Conference is the vital link between oceans and climate change. Representatives and officials from countries all over the world are coming together to find a way to reverse the decline in the health of our oceans for the planet, for people and for prosperity.
But why should we care? Why should we care about the health of our oceans?
Well, for starters, oceans play a VITAL role in the global climate system. Oceans are also inextricably linked to human survival. It produces half of the world’s oxygen, regulate the earth’s climate and temperature, provide food and water, and are home to hundreds of thousands of species.
Over the years, our oceans have gone through a lot of changes, and in recent years, these changes have become more drastic and dramatic. In addition to rising ocean temperatures and sea-levels and global warming, coral reefs are under threat from climate change. Changes to the climate have been brought on by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thanks to us.
The main areas of work at The Ocean Conference will be a political call to action, a segment on partnership dialogues and voluntary commitments. According to Ocean Conference.un.org, the exact goals of the conference are as followed:
According to their website, the Conference shall:
- Identify ways and means to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14;
- Build on existing successful partnerships and stimulate innovative and concrete new partnerships to advance the implementation of Goal 14;
- Involve all relevant stakeholders, bringing together Governments, the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions the scientific community, the private sector, philanthropic organizations and other actors to assess challenges and opportunities relating to, as well as actions taken towards, the implementation of Goal 14;
- Share the experiences gained at the national, regional and international levels in the implementation of Goal 14;
- Contribute to the follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by providing an input to the high-level political forum on sustainable development, in accordance with resolutions 67/290 of 9 July 2013, 70/1 of 25 September 2015 and 70/299 of 29 July 2016, on the implementation of Goal 14, including on opportunities to strengthen progress in the future;