Monday 9 June 2014

World Oceans Day 2014, June 8.



Ocean Sustainability: Together let's ensure oceans can sustain us into the future"

The observance of World Oceans Day this year coincides with the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Known as the “Constitution for the Oceans”, this instrument provides a comprehensive legal regime for all ocean activities and is critical to the sustainable use of the world’s seas and oceans.
We have to ensure that oceans continue to meet our needs without compromising those of future generations.  They regulate the planet’s climate and are a significant source of nutrition.  Their surface provides essential passage for global trade, while their depths hold current and future solutions to humanity’s energy needs.
On this World Oceans Day, let us reflect on the multiple benefits of the oceans.  Let us commit to keep them healthy and productive and to use their resources peacefully, equitably and sustainably for the benefit of current and future generations. 
Ban Ki-moon

Statement attributable to the President of the United Nations General Assembly on the occasion of World Oceans Day, 8 June 2014.

On World Oceans Day, I encourage people across the globe to honour our oceans. Oceans are a major source of economic activity, food and are an essential part of our biosphere.

The United Nations General Assembly has recognized oceans and seas as an important part of sustainable development, as envisioned by the United Nations Millennium Declaration. Since 2009, the United Nations family has come together each year to urge communities to ensure that our oceans remain clean and healthy, and this year's theme underscores the power of collaboration: "Together we have the power to protect the ocean!"

As we look to implement a sustainable Post-2015 Development Agenda, I call on Member States and other stakeholders to continue to take action to protect our oceans by reducing pollution, and protecting marine life for present and future generations.

Billions of humans, plants and animals depend on our oceans each and every day and together we must strive to protect them and create a better, cleaner future for our planet.  



 Message from Ms Irina Bokova,Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Oceans Day 2014.
“One Planet, One Ocean” Together we have the power to protect the ocean.

The importance of the ocean for sustainable development was recognized at the 2012 International Conference on Sustainable Development, and it lies at the heart of negotiations within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. World Oceans Day is an opportunity to celebrate the importance of the ocean for life on earth and to stand up for its protection.At a time of rising threats,‘business as usual’ is no longer acceptable--we must change how we understand, manage and use ocean resources and coastal areas.

For this, we need to know more about the ocean and draw on stronger science to craft sustainable, ecosystem-based policies for the ocean and coasts. Through its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, drawing on the 46 marines World Heritage sites and the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, UNESCO acts at the forefront of intergovernmental efforts to deepen ocean research and policy. UNESCO works to strengthen the evidence base for sharper decision-making on the ocean and to link science more tightly with policy and society. This includes strong partnerships with civil society. UNESCO is supporting a comprehensive platform of Non-Governmental Organizations to raise the profile of ocean issues in the run-up the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP),in Lima in 2014 and in Paris next year.


Simultaneously, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the Oceanography Society and the Fundació Navegació Ocèanica Barcelona are bringing together ocean science experts to shape international collaboration in marine sciences and technology at the 2nd International Ocean Research Conference that will be held this November in Barcelona, Spain. In collaboration with a variety of UN and other institutional stakeholders, UNESCO is also actively engaged in the World Ocean Assessment and the Global Environment Facility’s Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme, to improve knowledge about the ocean and deliver science-based information to decision-makers.

All of these efforts are important for mitigating ocean hazards and the impact of climate change, essential in this International Year of Small Island Developing States. UNESCO is fully on-board to help prepare the 3rd International Conference on Small Island Developing States that will be held this September in Apia, Samoa, with an emphasis on engaging young people. The ocean is essential to our well-being and the future of our planet, and World Oceans Day is a moment for all Governments and all societies to join forces in ensuring its protection One Planet, One Ocean–Together,we have the power to protect them both.
Irina Bokova

 



2014 Theme: Together, we have the power to protect the oceans

The celebration of World Oceans Day 2014 coincides with the first day of the twenty-fourth meeting of the Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This year, also marks the twentieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention.
The United Nations will celebrate World Oceans Day 2014 and recognize the winners of the Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Photo Competition at an event on 9 June 2014 at United Nations Headquarters.


Why do we celebrate World Oceans Day?

  • To remind everyone of the major part the Ocean has in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.
  • To inform the public on the impact of the human actions on the Ocean.
  • To develop a worldwide movement of citizen, towards the Ocean.
  • To mobilize and unite the world’s pop ulation on a project for the sustainable management of the World Ocean. They are a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere.
  • To celebrate together the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the Ocean.

What we know abour the "Garbage Patches."

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Understanding marine debris

Land-based sources of marine debris

Boating and marine debris.

Fishing and marine debris.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world.

But it is under threat from widespread, rapid and damaging set of industrial developments.

The Queensland Government is fast-tracking the dredging and dumping of millions of tonnes of seabed and rock in the Reef’s waters, and a near-doubling of bulk carriers cutting through the Reef.

The federal government is considering approval of these developments, including the world’s biggest coal port at Abbot Point, 50 km from the Whitsunday Islands.

It’s your Reef, but you’re going to have to fight for it.

Fight for the Reef is a partnership between WWF-Australia and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).

Fight for the Reef is working with the Australian community to protect the Reef, the $6 billion tourism industry and the 60,000 jobs it supports.
Vote for the reef, because it can't vote for itself!


'One planet, one ocean – together, we must protect them', urges UN on World Oceans Day 2014.

With the planet’s oceans under stress, the United Nations is marking World Oceans Day by appealing to the international community to keep oceans healthy and productive and to use their resources peacefully, equitably and sustainably for the benefit of current and future generations. 




 


World Oceans Day Events : 10 June 2014, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France.

- Press conference on ocean partnerships
Main stakeholders: UNESCO, Government of France, Tara Expedition, Océanopolis, Nausicaa. 9:00-10:00, room III.
Presentation of shared committments by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) and civil society and of joint projects in 2014-2015.

This press conference will provide an opportunity to launch the “Océan & Climat” Civil Society Platform for the 2015 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 21) ; brief the press on the milestone events of the COP 21 preparation process; and present joint projects.
- Information Session for Permanent Delegations on the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
10:00-13:00, Room II.

EVENTS FOR YOUTH
- Exhibit by Deyrolle Pour l’Avenir on the ocean
All day, Espace Miro 3
Showcase of their newest collection of teaching materials on the ocean, protected marine species, and the Mediterranean region.

- Hands-on science education workshop & tour of the Deyrolle exhibit
10:00-11:30, middle-school students, Espace Miro 3
Young students will carry out scientific experiments on water Ph and Salinity, and discuss current ocean-related issues with experts, such as ocean acidification or plastic pollution. The students will also tour the exhibit on the ocean with Deyrolle president Louis Albert de Broglie.

- Inaugural edition of the Campus OPEN UNESCO Jeunes
15:00-17:00, high school students, Room II

- UNESCO & the ocean: Illustration of UNESCO’s contribution to the Aichi Targets for Ocean Conservation under the Convention on Biological Diversity
17:30 – 19:00 UNESCO Cafeteria (to be confirmed)

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