Oceans Conference Plenary Meeting – 6 June 2017

NABU participated on the 6 June, 2017 Oceans Conference held at the United Nations in New York City. The high-level Conference was organized to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (“SDG14”).

The Conference aimed to be “the game changer that will reverse the decline in the health of our ocean for people, planet and prosperity.”

Topics ranged from the need for greater regional cooperation and solidarity as the linchpin for cooperation to the sharing of knowledge and capacity building across member states more cooperatively.

The discussion session that followed centered on the seven major themes of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water):

1. Addressing marine pollution;
2. Managing, protecting, conserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems;
3. Minimizing and addressing ocean acidification;
4. Making fisheries sustainable;
5. Increasing economic benefits to SIDS (small island developing states) and LDCs (less developed countries) and providing access for small scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets;
6. Increasing scientific knowledge, and developing research capacity and transfer of marine technology;
7. Implementing international law, as reflected in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea).

Text by Stephen Reilly