U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for stronger measures to protect the oceans in his message for World Oceans Day on Thursday.
“The ocean is the basis of life. It provides the air we breathe and the food we eat. It regulates our climate and weather. The ocean belongs to our planet largest reservoir of biodiversity,” he said.
‘Worst Enemy’
Along with these benefits, the ocean also produces resources that sustain communities, prosperity, and health. More than a billion people worldwide depend on fish as their main source of protein.
“We should be the ocean’s best friend. But right now, humanity is its worst enemy‘ he said, pointing to the evidence.
The UN chief said human-caused climate change is heating the planet, disrupting weather patterns and ocean currents, and altering marine ecosystems and the species that live there.
Marine biodiversity is also threatened by overfishing, overexploitation and ocean acidification, fish stocks are being depleted and coastal waters are being polluted by chemicals, plastics and human waste.
At the Mindelo Ocean Summit, Secretary General António Guterres signs the Ocean Race Wall together with José Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde.
The tide is turning
“But this year’s World Oceans Day reminds us of that The tides are changing,” he said.
Mr Guterres recalled that last December countries adopted an ambitious global target to protect and manage 30 percent of land, sea and coast by the end of the decade.
Last year also saw a landmark deal on fisheries subsidies and the UN Maritime Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, where the world agreed to push for more positive action.
Realize the promise
Negotiations are ongoing for a global, legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, and in March countries agreed on the historic High Seas Treaty on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
“We recognize the great promise of these initiatives requires collective commitment‘ Mr Guterres said.
“On this World Oceans Day, let’s continue to press for action. Today and every day we put the ocean first.”
Crucial to food security: FAO
There is not a single global problem today, be it climate change, food security or poverty, that can be solved without considering the ocean itself part of the solution.
This is the message from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ahead of World Oceans Day on Thursday.
The ocean is already that Major source of protein for more than a billion people around the world and offers many opportunities to contribute to feeding the growing world population.
Manuel Barange, FAO Director for Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Resources, highlighted the rapid development of aquaculture – the farming of fish and aquatic plants:
“Aquaculture has been the fastest growing food production system over the last five decades, from practically zero three or four decades ago to having practically the same production as capture fisheries today,” he said.
“That is what we expect from aquaculture grow by about 25 percent by the end of this decade.”
The FAO has taken on a pioneering role Blue Transformation Initiative which promotes aquatic food as part of the solution to hunger and malnutrition.
The aim is to ensure that the fisheries are managed effectively and sustainably and that the aquatic food value chain is transparent to the consumer.
That’s roughly what the agency says 600 million people depend on fishing and aquaculture for their livelihood.
