The United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in its meeting in December 2017, proclaimed the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, 20212030. The proclamation is based on the informed conviction of the UN member states that the time is running out to start managing the ocean sustainably. The 2016 report on the first World Ocean Assessment by the UN, posed a very alarming question on the human civilisation: is there a way to reverse the decline in ocean health while continuing to rely on the ocean for our ever-increasing needs, particularly under a changing climate and increasing loss of biodiversity?
Some statistics may be in order for the non-initiated to put the issue in perspective. The oceans cover 71 percent of the planet's surface and it feeds us, protects us, and absorbs more than 90 percent of the excess heat generated by global warming. The oceans are an unimaginable source of economic, social, and cultural wealth, with over 3 billion people depending on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihood. The worrying part is that despite the importance of the oceans to human health and wellbeing, ocean research remains poorly funded and according to estimates, an average of less than 2 percent of the national research budgets is allocated to it.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Geopolitics.
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This story is from the May 2022 edition of Geopolitics.
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