5 June 2017 \u2013 Opening a \u201cgame-changing\u201d international conference on the health of the world\u2019s oceans and seas, top United Nations officials today urged coordinated global action to protect the planet.<\/p>\n
Speaking in the UN General Assembly Hall, Secretary-Genera<\/a>l Ant\u00f3nio Guterres cautioned Governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate.<\/p>\n \u201cImproving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism<\/a>, and we cannot afford to fail,\u201d the Secretary-General said addressing his first major UN conference since taking on his post.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back,\u201d he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.<\/p>\n One of the main challenges, he said, is to end \u201cthe artificial dichotomy\u201d between jobs and healthy oceans: \u201cThe conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin.\u201d<\/p>\n He called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.<\/p>\n Among other specific actions, Mr. Guterres urged Governments to allocate the promised funding for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda<\/a>, as well as improving data collection and sharing their best experiences.<\/p>\n These works are supported by the UN, he added, which among its work, is building partnerships with Governments, the private sector, civil society and others, and working with international financial institutions to allocate resources.<\/p>\n Also addressing the thousands of participants \u2013 including heads of State and Government, civil society representatives, business people, as well as actors, and ocean and marine life advocates \u2013 was the President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson.<\/p>\n