16 billion dollars to safeguard the health of the ocean
The seventh “Our Oceans” conference was held on 13 and 14 April in the island state of Palau.
Government and private sector representatives, civil society groups and philanthropic organizations have pledged more than $16 billion to improve ocean health, productivity and protection.
The importance of ocean-based climate solutions and the link between ocean and community health were at the center of discussion.
The fact that it was held in an island state as well as a developing country lent a unique perspective to the event, highlighting the crucial role of indigenous peoples' and local community leadership in addressing the climate and ocean crisis.
International delegates representing governments, businesses, research and academic institutions, civil society, youth leaders and philanthropic organizations announced their pledge to donate more than $16 billion to protect ocean health at the 7th Our Ocean Conference in Koror , Palau, on 13 and 14 April.
The conference is an annual event, initiated in 2014 by then Secretary of State John Kerry, who is now the United States' Special Presidential Envoy on Climate. The conference was designed as a platform to solicit support and raise funding for initiatives addressing the oceans' most pressing issues. So this event represents a milestone for leaders to ensure that the global commitments that have been made for ocean health are delivered and supported by robust funding.
To date, the seven Our Ocean Conferences have raised more than 1,800 pledges worth more than $108 billion and protected at least 13 million square kilometers of ocean.
"We have finally begun to act with the urgency that the situation calls for," Kerry said in his closing comments on April 14, "even as we know we need to accelerate further."
Entitled Our Ocean, Our People, Our Prosperity, the conference focused on six action areas: combating climate change, promoting sustainable fishing, creating economies marine life, expand marine protected areas, achieve greater safety and security for the oceans, and tackle marine pollution.
It was the first time a small island developing state hosted the conference, which provided a unique perspective and highlighted the intrinsic importance of ocean health to the well-being and prosperity of coastal communities. In addition, he highlighted the crucial role of indigenous peoples' and local community leadership in addressing both the climate change and ocean crises.
With 2021 being the warmest year on record for the ocean, surpassing even 2020's records, ocean-based solutions to the climate crisis have been at the center of discussion.
In his keynote address, Kerry said the ocean and climate are inextricably linked: ocean protection is critical to addressing climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital to future ocean health.
Kerry called on attendees to address the challenges of the global climate and ocean crisis with a renewed sense of urgency. “Each of us knows that it is much more expensive to face the costs of damage than to invest now in preventing it. And science tells us that every tenth of a degree [of warming] will matter immensely."
Kerry cited the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released earlier this month, which suggests that producing large-scale renewable energy and decarbonising the shipping sector, among other things, could lower emissions enough to limit warming to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. He also said he's optimistic that we can develop and implement solutions to solve our problems, but cautioned, adding that "none of us are moving fast enough right now."
A central theme of the two days was the sustainable and equitable management of ocean resources as part of a blue economy. Many speakers noted that if the shipping sector were a country, it would be the eighth largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world. Ambitious actions are underway to make the shipping sector greener and carbon neutral. Commitments have also been made to dramatically increase offshore renewable energy generation .
Another central theme of the conference was how to tackle plastic pollution. Without countermeasures, the flow of plastic into the oceans will close to tripling by 2040. To this end, speakers referred to last month's UN resolution to develop a legally binding treaty to combat plastic pollution within the next few months. two years. The global importance of abandoned fishing gear in the oceans has also been recognized and many commitments have been made on the collection, recycling and reduction of abandoned fishing nets. These nets, also called "ghost", are a frequent cause of mortality for the marine fauna that gets entangled in them.
The crucial role of traditional and indigenous knowledge for ocean management was another theme that returned in many discussions and presentations. A panel discussion on Indigenous leadership in conservation touched on a variety of topics, from appreciating traditional practices to including diverse voices, from the need for sustained funding to help large-scale projects to the challenges of passing traditional knowledge from one generation to the next . Indah Rufiati, head of the non-profit organization Pesisir Lestari, based in Indonesia, repeated the call to safeguard traditional practices in a plenary session on the diffusion of sustainable fishing industry.
Another area that has received particular attention has been those of marine protected areas (MPAs). Since the event was held in Palau, where 78% of the country's Exclusive Economic Area is under high protection as part of the Palau Marine National Park, attendees were encouraged to expand the percentage of their territorial waters set aside part as AMP.
Speakers recognized the importance of the UN negotiations for a treaty for the protection and management of the high seas – the international waters that cover about two-thirds of the oceans. While the discussions did not lead to agreement on several points, including the creation of offshore MPAs, participants said they hoped to reach an agreement by the end of 2022. The presenters also appealed for protection of the waters around the Andartide.
The creation of several new MPAs has been announced, and the goal of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 has been supported. Pledges have also included the Australian government's pledge of $700 million to protect the Great Barrier Reef and $25 million from the Shark Conservation Fund to expand MPAs and strengthen fisheries and trade regulations to protect sharks and rays.
The need to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing was another central area of discussion, along with the related issue of harmful fishing subsidies that encourage overexploitation of fish stocks and harm small fishing businesses. Among the new resources available against poaching are $250 million pledged in the form of policies, governance, on-water equipment, technical assistance, and innovative forms of monitoring and tracking.