{"id":24752,"date":"2017-03-28T14:54:32","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T14:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=24752"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:54:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:54:07","slug":"feature-humanity-at-the-core-as-un-readies-for-first-ever-ocean-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/03\/feature-humanity-at-the-core-as-un-readies-for-first-ever-ocean-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE: Humanity at the core as UN readies for first-ever Ocean Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over a year ago, on 20 February 2016, Tropical Cyclone Winston<\/a> made a category 5 landfall along the north coast of Fiji’s largest, most populous island, Viti Levu, killing at least 44 people, and grounding flights to and from the Pacific Island nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the strongest cyclones to have hit any country in the Southern Hemisphere,\u201d recalls Mr. Semi Koroilavesau, Fijian Minister for Fisheries. \u201cThat was quite catastrophic for Fiji and we are still recovering from it,\u201d he adds, sombrely.<\/p>\n

Mr. Koroilavesau was speaking recently at a panel discussion on the margins of the first preparatory meeting \u2013 convened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly <\/a>at the UN Headquarters in New York \u2013 for the first-ever UN Ocean Conference<\/a>, to be co-hosted by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden, from 5 June to 9 June 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ocean is warming up and changing the pattern of our main product, which is tuna,\u201d said Mr. Koroilavesau underlining the significance of the ocean to the Fijian people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe migratory pattern has changed because of the conditions of the water. The degradation of the water is also depleting our resources and creating a lot of havoc in our ocean,\u201d he told the high-level panel, which included Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly, Isabella L\u00f6vin, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, and Wu Hongbo<\/a>, UN Under-Secretary-General and head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cFiji has about 320 islands. Ocean is quite an important item to us both in our daily lives and\u2026 also as transportation between the islands,\u201d said Mr. Koroilavesau.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to the June Conference, four themes will shape the focus of the preparations that, according to the President of the UN General Assembly, \u201cwill lay the foundations upon which the Oceans Conference will stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur efforts at this time and in the years ahead, will determine whether our children, and those who come after them, will know the joy and the sustenance of the oceans bounty that was provided to us in our youth. Let\u2019s not deny them that bounty,\u201d Mr. Thomson had said earlier, in a message that resonated strongly with the theme for the month of February, which is People and Oceans<\/em>, with a focus on livelihoods, tourism, food security, maritime transport and trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you look at the declining fish stocks that are reaching a tipping point, or the ocean acidification level or whether you look at the level of plastics in our oceans, I think any sensible person can conclude that time is running out fast and we need to take action fast,\u201d said Mr. Thomson, during the preparatory meeting.<\/p>\n

SDG14 and the whole development agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo underlined the nexus between oceans and people, especially in the context of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14<\/a>, which has to do with conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
\n\u201cWhen we talk about SDG 14, we are thinking about navigation in the sea, we think about catching fish in the sea for food, we are thinking about doing tourism, but that is not all. Health of the sea and sustainable use of marine resources have a direct impact in the implementation of the many SDGs<\/a>,\u201d noted Mr. Wu, calling for voluntary commitments to implement Goal 14.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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