Amid Record Sea-Level Rise, Coral Reef Damage, Secretary-General Observance Message Urges Collective Action to Ensure World’s Oceans Are Healthy, Productive

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Oceans Day, observed on 8 June:

Last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) revealed that four key climate indicators broke new records in 2021:  sea-level rise; ocean heat; ocean acidification; and greenhouse gas concentrations.  It is clear that the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are threatening the health of our oceans, on which we all ultimately depend.

The ocean produces more than 50 per cent of the planet’s oxygen and is the main source of sustenance for more than a billion people.  Ocean-based industries employ some 40 million people.  Yet, ocean resources and biodiversity are being undermined by human activities.  More than one third of the world’s fish stocks are harvested at biologically unsustainable levels.  A significant proportion of coral reefs have been destroyed.  Plastic pollution has reached the remotest islands and deepest ocean trenches.  Coastal dead zones from land-based pollution are growing.

It is time to realize that, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change, we urgently need collective action to revitalize the ocean.  That means finding a new balance in our relationship with the marine environment.  It means working together with nature, not against it, and building inclusive and diverse partnerships across regions, sectors and communities to collaborate creatively on ocean solutions.

Momentum is growing.  Last November, the Glasgow climate change conference recognized the role of marine ecosystems in achieving the world’s climate goals.  In March, countries agreed to work together on a new treaty to end plastic pollution, which is threatening the marine environment.  Later this month, the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon will focus on scaling up action based on science and innovation for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14.  And discussions will continue on a new agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Ensuring a healthy and productive ocean is our collective responsibility, which we can only fulfil by working together.  On this World Oceans Day, I urge all those with a stake in ocean health to come together to revitalize our seas and oceans.