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We are the ocean: High stakes for the blue planet
More than ever before, we must make sure that multilateral action is equal to the challenges of protecting the ocean.
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This aerial file picture taken on January 25, 2011, show islands and reefs in Wakatobi archipelago, a thriving marine paradise in Southeast Sulawesi packing a bewildering abundance of life in the Coral Triangle, a region of rich tropical reefs spanning much of Southeast Asia and almost all of Indonesia. (AFP/STEPHEN COATES )
F
rom June 9 to 13, France will co-host, with Costa Rica, the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3). For this crucial event, around 100 heads of state and government will converge in Nice, as well as tens of thousands of researchers, scientists, economic actors, activists and citizens from around the world. On this occasion, France’s aim will be clear: protecting the ocean through tangible action.
The ocean is our common good. It feeds and protects our peoples. It makes us dream and travel. It provides us with sustainable energy, trade, resources and infinite scientific knowledge.
One in three people relies on the ocean for their livelihood, yet the ocean is in danger. It is an area that is still largely unknown, and lacks the global governance and funding necessary for its preservation.
The figures are worrying: more than 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, according to a study published in the journal Science. Moreover, more than a third of fish stocks suffer overfishing, while ocean acidification, rising sea levels and the destruction of marine ecosystems gain pace, as direct consequences of climate change.
We must act now. More than ever before, we must make sure that multilateral action is equal to the challenges of protecting the ocean.
Ten years after COP21 and the Paris Agreement, which established a binding global framework to limit climate change, the third United Nations Ocean Conference is a historic opportunity. The “Nice Ocean Agreements” can form an international pact for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, fully in line with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015.
To this end, the talks in Nice need to be operational and action-focused, aiming for better governance, further financing and greater knowledge of the seas.
