When delivering her speech at the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference taking place in this city, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was emphatic in demanding more actions to confront the threats to the seas.

“Since 2021, we have made great progress based on our three pillars: understand, educate and protect. More than 500 projects are being implemented in some 60 countries and more than one billion dollars have been mobilized. But there is still much to do,” Azoulay stressed.

During the event, UNESCO and 13 cities announced the creation of the “Cities with the Ocean” platform, a new alliance between the UN entity and coastal cities and ports, which complements the work already begun with its 194 member states.

Seventy-five percent of the world’s megacities are located in coastal areas, making their population one of the most affected by natural and human-made ocean hazards, such as tsunamis, ocean pollution, and the effects of climate change. .

UNESCO reiterated its support for these cities by developing initiatives adapted to their needs, such as improving the organization’s Tsunami Ready Recognition Program, training urban planners to anticipate the risks of coastal erosion or collecting essential scientific data. .

Next year, a first international symposium will bring together this network in Qingdao, one of the largest coastal cities in China. This initiative will also be highlighted in Nice, France, as part of the discussions at the United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025.

During the meeting here, the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, presented the Catalan capital’s candidacy to host a new collaborating center of the Ocean Decade, focused on the development of a sustainable blue economy.

ef/ro/ft