Ocean & Coasts
A healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems are vitally important for humans and the environment. The ocean regulates the climate, absorbs much of the carbon dioxide emitted from human activity, and provides fish, the main source of protein for over three billion people. The ecosystem goods and services the ocean provides are estimated to be worth USD 12 trillion. The biological diversity of ocean and coastal regions also provides important services including food security, feed for livestock, raw materials for medicines, building materials from coral rock and sand, and natural defenses against coastal erosion and flooding. Millions of people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their food security, income, and socio-cultural and economic development. Human activities put pressure on coastal and marine ecosystems, including through climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Ninety percent of the world's fisheries are either fully or over-exploited. Eight million tons of plastics enter the sea each year and contaminate a quarter of all seafood. Eighty percent of wastewater is discharged without treatment, damaging human health and biodiversity.
Events and Articles
Showing 31 - 40 of 144 results
The Sustainable Ocean Initiative: Learning from the Past to Better Build Capacity to Achieve Global Ocean Goals into the Future
Attendees dove into impact stories from the Sustainable Ocean Initiative, discussions on the role of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework for ocean-related capacity building, and potential future directions for the programme.
1st Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-1)
While most delegations seem to agree that there are negative effects surrounding plastic pollution, it was clear they have yet to find common ground on the details and contents of key substantive themes that will determine the scope and guide the implementation of the future international treaty.
Ocean for Climate: Implementing Ocean-based Climate Action to Build Coastal Adaptation and Resilience
With a specific focus on the African continent, speakers and panelists at this side event called for raised ambition, as Ocean and coastal solutions are scientifically proven and central to adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development, yet underfunded.
Ocean Futures Lab
UN climate and biodiversity processes happen too often in siloes, each attracting a different set of experts and thus creating separate conversations. In an event on Ocean-based climate solutions, panelists called for much greater cooperation between biodiversity and climate international frameworks.
GEO Week 2022
Convening under the theme, “Global Action for Local Impact,” GEO Week 2022 brought together practitioners to discuss the potential for earth observation to assist in addressing global challenges. The week was heavily focused on the future direction of GEO, with participants engaging in sessions related to the road to GEO post-2025.
3rd Meeting of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Global Dialogue with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fishery Bodies
Breakout sessions challenged attendees to consider where regional coordination and cooperation intersects with effective area-based conservation measures, marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and addressing marine litter.
5th Session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the BBNJ
Despite more progress at this two-week session than over the last decade, delegates were unable to reach consensus on a new high seas treaty addressing marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and, instead, suspended the session, to be resumed in early 2023. (View coverage of the resumed BBNJ talks in late February - early March 2023)
27th Session of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA-27)
As environmental concerns continue to grow, the prospect of extracting mineral resources from the deep seabed has generated quite a debate, which permeated the work of the Assembly.
2022 UN Ocean Conference
Having amassed billions of dollars in voluntary commitments and pledges to save the Earth’s most vital resource, the curtains came down on the second UN Ocean Conference. This renewed commitment could not have come a moment too soon.
Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group to Prepare for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to End Plastic Pollution
Governments took the first steps toward a new international treaty on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, as they set out the schedule of negotiations and rules of procedure, and convened multi-stakeholder dialogues on the scope of the plastics pollution problem.