United Nations Ocean Conference

Last updated
United Nations Ocean Conference
UN Ocean Conference Logo.png
FrequencyTriannual
LocationVaries
Years active8
Inaugurated 2017
Previous event 2025
Next event 2028
Participants Member states of the United Nations; financial, educational, and scientific institutions; intergovernmental organizations, Indigenous representatives
Website www.un.org

The United Nations Ocean Conference (officially the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, abbreviated UNOC) is a triannual conference held by the United Nations to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. The conference was inaugurated in 2017 in New York City, and since 2022, has been held once every three years. Each conference is jointly organized and hosted by an elected team consisting of one developed nation and one developing nation.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Background

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. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] 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. [6] It could lead to oceans containing more plastics than fish by 2050 if nothing is done. [7] [8] [9] Key habitats such as coral reefs are at risk and noise pollution are a threat to whales, dolphins, and other species. [10] [11] [12] Furthermore almost 90 percent of fish stocks are overfished or fully exploited which cost more than $80 billion a year in lost revenues. [13]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that decisive, coordinated global action can solve the problems created by humanity. [1] 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". [1] [14] [15]

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

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lay out the organization's ambitions for sustainable growth and improvement by 2030. The mission statement of SDG 14 is "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development." The Ocean Conferences serve as a platform for governments and non-governmental organizations to support this goal and work together towards its implementation.

The first Ocean Conference was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City in 2017, and jointly organized by Sweden and Fiji. [19] Subsequent conferences have taken place every three years, and been co-hosted by one developed country and one developing country.

Chronology

YearLocationHost countriesDatesNotes
2017 Flag of New York City.svg New York City (UN Headquarters)5-9 JuneInaugural event
2022 Flag of Lisbon.svg Lisbon 27 June-1 July5 years between New York and Lisbon conferences, compared to the usual three.
2025 Flag of the County of Nice.svg Nice 9-13 June
2028 Flag of None.svg TBATBA

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frangoul, Anmar (6 June 2017). "UN Secretary General Guterres says world's oceans are facing unprecedented threat". CNBC. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "West Coast states encourage worldwide fight against ocean acidification". Governor Inslee's Communications Office. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Save our Oceans – The Manila Times Online". Manila Times. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Klimawandel – Ozeankonferenz warnt vor Versauerung der Meere". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 2 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "California models how to clean up, reduce, recycle plastic waste". San Francisco Chronicle. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Wearden, Graeme (19 January 2016). "More plastic than fish in the sea by 2050, says Ellen MacArthur". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "UN chief warns oceans are 'under threat as never before'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Plastic in rivers major source of ocean pollution: study" . Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Recommendations for addressing Ocean Noise Pollution: A joint statement to the Oceans Conference" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  12. ↑ Lind, Fredrik; Tanzer, John (7 June 2017). "Make or break moment for the oceans". CNN . Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. 1 2 "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.
  14. ↑ "UN Ocean Conference 2017 Seeks To Avoid Climate Change Catastrophe". International Business Times. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Erste UN-Ozeankonferenz hat begonnen" (in German). Tagesschau. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ Kalman, Bobbie (2008). Earth's Coasts . Crabtree Publishing Company. p.  4. ISBN   9780778732068 . Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "UN 2025 Ocean Conference". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
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