On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all countries on the planet to put aside their private interests and save the oceans to avoid a global catastrophe, at the opening of the first conference on the oceans of the United Nations.
The five-day meeting is the first of its kind in this organization to deal with problems affecting the oceans, ranging from coral bleaching to plastic pollution and overfishing due to climate change.
We have to set aside short-term gains to prevent a long-term global catastrophe,”
said Guterres in the UN General Assembly.
To preserve our oceans and use them in a sustainable way is to preserve one’s life,”
added Guterres.
The conference, aimed at defining a strategy to reverse the deterioration of the oceans, was overshadowed by the recent decision by US President Donald Trump to withdraw his country from the Paris Climate Agreement.
UN member states are working on a “call to action” that must be signed by countries committed to taking steps to clean up the oceans and preserve the Earth’s most valuable resource.
The objectives include the protection of at least 10% of coastal and marine ecosystems by 2020, the reduction of ocean pollution and the strengthening of means to fight illegal and unregulated fishing.
The UN chief cited a recent study showing that the volume of plastic waste could exceed that of fish by 2050 if no action is taken.
Rising ocean levels threaten entire countries, the fishing industry is plunging in some places and coastal ecosystems are severely affected by fishing, mining, shipping and tourism, he warned.
The senior official called for concrete action, such as the extension of marine protected areas, better management of fishing activity, reduction of pollution and cleaning of plastic wastes.