Every person across the globe, especially the international community, needs to strengthen the efforts to save our oceans, cited Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres after stressing that a sustainable blue economy can drive economic progress & job creation while protecting the sea and climate on Saturday, February 12, 2022.

The statement has come after the chief of the United Nations has described that the ocean is facing giant carbon and heat sink and it is becoming more warmer and acidic, which further caused huge consequences to its ecosystem as it suffered a lot.

While describing the situation, “The United Nations chief, through the video message to the conference, cited,” The climate is changing drastically, and the polar ice is melting with the profound change in the global weather patterns”.

The communities who depend on the ocean are facing huge disruption as well, he added: “More than three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods”.

He painted a grim picture of dwindling marine species and asserted that dying coral reefs; coastal ecosystems turned into “vast dead zones” as they serve as dumping grounds for sewage and nutrients and seas choked by plastic waste.

Moreover, fish stocks are being threatened by over and destructive fishing practices, along with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“We must change tack”, underscored the Secretary-General.

It is 40 years since the signing of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the importance of legal certainty in the ocean is paramount”, noted Mr Guterres.

He upheld that the second UN Ocean Conference, which will be held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1 this year, is “an opportunity to protect and develop the safety of the ocean” in global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implement the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The UN chief stressed that people should make constructive efforts to protect the ocean, saying that a “sustainable blue economy can drive economic progress and job creation” while watching the climate.

“We need more and more effective partnerships, to address land-based sources of marine pollution urgency in the deployment of offshore renewable energy, which can provide clean power and employment, and fossil fuels in the ocean economy”, he said.

Mr Guterres welcomed “encouraging steps” taken by some countries, including France, to end single-use plastics and urged others to follow suit.

UNICEF also infomred that,” Only 20% of the seabed is mapped. To Save Our Ocean for real, we need to know it better. This is why we are proud to announce, on the occasion of the One Ocean Summit, that UNESCO will have at least 80% of the seabed mapped by 2030″.

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