The time to act for a brave new ocean is now: UNESCO Chief

NEW DELHI: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organised a global online event with the headline: ‘A Brave New Ocean’ on February 3. The event marked the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. This UN Decade for Ocean aims to raise awareness on the immense challenges and opportunities that the world’s seas provide in the path of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNESCO has referred to this initiative as UN’s own “massive commitment to our Blue Planet.”

Audrey Azoulay, Chief of UNESCO, said that at the beginning of the third millennium, oceanography has the capacity to identify problems and offer solutions, provided that that world stops neglecting its contribution. As stated by UNESCO, the Ocean Decade will provide a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity for nations to work together to generate the global ocean science needed to support the sustainable development of ocean shared by everyone. She said, “The time to act for a Brave New Ocean is now.”

António Guterres, Secretary-General, UN, said that protecting and sustainably managing the ocean is essential for food, livelihoods, and mitigating climate disruption, and related disasters. He added that restoring the ocean’s ability to nurture humanity and regulating the climate is a significant challenge which needs work. He urged everyone at the event to make peace with nature, in order to deliver a prosperous and equitable world for all, ensuring that nobody is left behind.

Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway and Co-chair of Ocean Panel, told the gathering at the virtual ceremony that the ocean is surely an exciting place and the world should have more research, more knowledge, and also understand that more livelihoods could come out of the ocean if everyone manages it better.   

The event also considered ways to bring together activists of all ages and continents to achieve the ocean ‘we’ want. It was the first event of the Ocean Decade and was dedicated to deepening scientific knowledge of the sea and protect the health of the Ocean, while simultaneously supporting the central role of ocean in transition to the sustainable and fair use of its resources as challenges on climate change mount.