United Nations Ocean Conference

The United Nations Ocean Conference
Begins5 June 2017
Ends9 June 2017
Location(s)UN HQ, New York, United States
Websiteoceanconference.un.org/

The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference was a United Nations conference that took place on 5-9 June 2017 which sought to mobilize action for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.[1][2][3]

The Earth's waters are said to be "under threat as never before", with pollution, overfishing, and the effects of climate change severely damaging the health of our oceans. For instance as oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, biodiversity is becoming reduced and changing currents will cause more frequent storms and droughts.[4][5][6][7][8] Every year around 8 million metric tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean and make it into the circular ocean currents. This causes contamination of sediments at the sea-bottom and causes plastic waste to be embedded in the aquatic food chain.[9] It could lead to oceans containing more plastics than fish by 2050 if nothing is done.[10][11][12] Key habitats such as coral reefs are at risk and noise pollution are a threat to whales, dolphins, and other species.[13][14][15] Furthermore almost 90 percent of fish stocks are overfished or fully exploited which cost more than $80 billion a year in lost revenues.[16]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that decisive, coordinated global action can solve the problems created by humanity.[4] Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly, highlighted the conference's significance, saying "if we want a secure future for our species on this planet, we have to act now on the health of the ocean and on climate change".[4][2]

Earth is often called the "blue planet" as oceans cover over 70 percent of the planet,[16] giving it a markedly blue appearance when seen from space[17][18][19] (here photographed by Apollo 17 in 1972).

The conference sought to find ways and urge for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.[4] Its theme is "Our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14".[20] It also asked governments, UN bodies, and civil society groups to make voluntary commitments for action to improve the health of the oceans with over 1,000 commitments − such as on managing protected areas − being made.[21][22][23]

Since 2014, the UN Ocean Conference and Our Ocean Conference have gathered over 2,160 financial and other quantifiable pledges, mobilising more than $130 billion.[24]

  1. ^ "The Ocean Conference | 5–9 June 2017". United Nations. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "UN Ocean Conference 2017 Seeks To Avoid Climate Change Catastrophe". International Business Times. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Erste UN-Ozeankonferenz hat begonnen" (in German). Tagesschau. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Frangoul, Anmar (6 June 2017). "UN Secretary General Guterres says world's oceans are facing unprecedented threat". CNBC. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ "UN chief calls for coordinated global action to solve ocean problems". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. ^ "West Coast states encourage worldwide fight against ocean acidification". Governor Inslee's Communications Office. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Save our Oceans – The Manila Times Online". Manila Times. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Klimawandel – Ozeankonferenz warnt vor Versauerung der Meere". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  9. ^ "California models how to clean up, reduce, recycle plastic waste". San Francisco Chronicle. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  10. ^ Wearden, Graeme (19 January 2016). "More plastic than fish in the sea by 2050, says Ellen MacArthur". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference wash1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Plastic in rivers major source of ocean pollution: study". Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  13. ^ "At the UN Ocean Conference, Recognizing an Unseen Pollutant: Noise". National Geographic Society (blogs). 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Recommendations for addressing Ocean Noise Pollution: A joint statement to the Oceans Conference" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  15. ^ Lind, Fredrik; Tanzer, John (7 June 2017). "Make or break moment for the oceans". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  16. ^ a b "FACTBOX-12 facts as World Oceans Day puts spotlight on climate change, pollution, overfishing". Reuters UK. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  17. ^ Jain, Sharad K.; Agarwal, Pushpendra K.; Singh, Vijay P. (2007). Hydrology and Water Resources of India. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781402051807. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ^ Kalman, Bobbie (2008). Earth's Coasts. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 4. ISBN 9780778732068. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  19. ^ Leith, James A.; Price, Raymond A.; Spencer, John Hedley (1995). Planet Earth: Problems and Prospects. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. ISBN 9780773512924. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Ghana: UN Begins Ocean Conference to Stop the Sea Pollution". Government of Ghana (Accra). 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  21. ^ "UN chief warns oceans 'under threat as never before'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  22. ^ "UN News – At Ocean Conference, UN agencies commit to cutting harmful fishing subsidies". 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  23. ^ "UN marks World Oceans Day at Ocean Conference". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Ocean economy offers a $2.5 trillion export opportunity: UNCTAD report | UNCTAD". unctad.org. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2023.