The first-ever United Nations summit on oceans today wrapped up with a global agreement to reverse the decline of the ocean’s health, and more than 1,300 pledged actions for protecting the blue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bar has been raised on global consciousness and awareness of the problem in the oceans,\u201d the President of the UN General Assembly, Peter Thomson, told journalists in New York.<\/p>\n
Mr. Thomson, whose native Fiji co-sponsored the event along with Sweden, said the organizers got what they wanted from the conference: \u201cI’m 100 per cent satisfied with the results of this conference. Our aim was high. Our aim was to start the reversal of the cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ocean Conference<\/a>\u00a0ends today with the adoption by consensus of a 14-point\u00a0Call for Action<\/a>\u00a0where the participating Heads of State and Government and senior representatives \u201caffirm our strong commitment to conserve and sustainably use our oceans, seas and marine resources tor sustainable development.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking alongside Mr. Thomson, the Secretary-General of The Ocean Conference, Wu Hongbo, said the negotiated document lists specific measures \u201cto galvanize global commitment and partnerships\u201d for the oceans.<\/p>\n The main points from the political document and this week’s discussions will be part of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF<\/a>), the UN’s central body for follow-up and review of the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs<\/a>) adopted in September 2015. The HLPF is scheduled to meet next month in New York.<\/p>\n In addition to the political Call for Action, participants \u2013 who also included thousands of civil society representatives, academics, artists, financial institutions and other practitioners and activists \u2013 pledged actions to conserve and sustainable use the oceans, seas and marine resources. This is the goal of\u00a0SDG14<\/a>.<\/p>\n By Friday afternoon, more than 1,300\u00a0voluntary commitments<\/a>\u00a0had already been registered.<\/p>\n Calling the figure \u201ctruly impressive,\u201d Mr. Wu, who is also UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, underscored that the commitments now comprise \u201can ocean solution registry.\u201d<\/p>\n The week-long conference, where some 6,000 people participated, was the first time that the UN brought everyone together to discuss the challenges facing the world’s oceans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the ocean, it’s the common heritage of humankind. There’s no North-South, East-West when it comes to the ocean,\u201d Mr. Thomson said. \u201cIf the ocean is dying, it’s dying on all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n The senior official underscored that by \u201cgetting the wheels turning\u201d on SDG 14, the conference helped push forward action on all 17\u00a0SDGs<\/a>. finance ocean science, but much more is required to fill the capacity gaps,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Topics that were discussed ranged from plastic pollution in the oceans and seas to ocean acidification and illegal fishing \u2013 which tie in with topics of alleviating poverty, ending hunger, promoting health, ensuring access to water and sanitation, and so on.<\/p>\n Mr. Thomson attributed the success of the conference to the \u201cwonderful way\u201d in which all the different participants came together to discuss and work together.<\/p>\n He lauded the \u201copenness to civil society, to the science sector, to private society\u201d in breaking down the typical divisions between governments and other sectors. \u201cThere’s no them and us. It’s all of us or nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to eight plenary meetings and seven partnership dialogues, The Ocean Conference included 150 side events, 41 exhibitions and interviews at\u00a0the SDG Media Zone<\/a>.<\/p>\n These included events with New Oceans Advocate and globally-acclaimed Australian singer-songwriter\u00a0Cody Simpson<\/a>, as well as Marine biologist\u00a0Douglas McCauley<\/a>, Aboriginal artist\u00a0Sid Bruce Short Joe<\/a>\u00a0and Spanish philanthropist\u00a0\u00c1lvaro de Marichalar<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n The mix of personalities and strong support for action brought \u201ccreativity and a sense of unity\u201d to the action for oceans, said conference co-chairwoman, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabelle Lovin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n‘It’s all of us or nothing’<\/em><\/h5>\n