Summary report, 27 June – 1 July 2022
- Media Manager
- Jun 30, 2022
- 2 min read
2022 UN Ocean Conference
IISDO
Having amassed billions of dollars in voluntary commitments and pledges to save the Earth’s most vital resource, the curtains came down on the second UN Ocean Conference. This renewed commitment could not have come a moment too soon. The science is clear: anthropogenic threats including deoxygenation, ocean acidification, marine pollution, and overfishing, have translated to a steep decline in ocean health.
To galvanize action to address these threats, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 73/292 in 2019 to convene a high-level Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development in 2020. After two years of postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference finally convened under the theme, “Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of SDG 14: Stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.”
The Conference featured both a general debate and interactive dialogues on:
marine pollution;
strengthening ocean-based economies;
managing, protecting, conserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems;
minimizing and addressing ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and ocean warming;
making fisheries sustainable and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets;
increasing scientific knowledge and developing research capacity and transfer of marine technology;
enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and
leveraging interlinkages between SDG 14 and other Goals towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Delegates announced over 300 voluntary commitments, with approximately 50 high-level commitments and pledges, including an investment of at least USD 1 billion to support the creation, expansion and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) and Indigenous and locally governed marine and coastal areas by 2030, made by the Protecting Our Planet Challenge.
