This event, the first one of a series scheduled to mark World Environment Day on June 5, seeks to move on the 2030 Agenda´s 14 Sustainable Development Goal, referring to preservation and sustainable use of seas, organizers said.
It will be divided into five panels, in which UNGA representatives -together with experts- will have the chance of sharing solutions and innovative practices.
The meeting is supported by UN Secretary-General´s Special Envoy for the Oceans Peter Thomson as well as the governments of Portugal and Kenya, hosts of the 2nd UN Ocean Conference, a meeting postponed due to the Covid-19pandemic.
Regarding Tuesday´s debate, UNGA President Volkan Bozkir tweeted that a healthy ocean is the basis of a healthy planet, ‘we cannot exist without it’.
Specialists project an increased 100 – 150% seas´ acidity by 2100 due to carbon dioxide emissions and pollution, which will affect marine flora and fauna.
Coastal and marine ecosystems provide food, livelihoods and protection to over one billion people in the world; while the sea-related economic activities exceeds US$1.5 trillion a year.
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