UN Ocean Conference set to commence on June 27, Kenya & Portugal to jointly host event

The United Nations Ocean Conference is scheduled to take place in Portugal's Lisbon from June 27 to July 1. The administrations of Kenya, as well as Portugal, will jointly host the conference, the UN noted in a statement. The Ocean Conference is going to occur at a very pivotal moment as the globe works to solve many of the pervasive social issues that the COVID-19 outbreak has exposed. According to the UN website, these issues call for significant structural changes and widely accepted solutions rooted in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Notably, during the event, the Conference's Secretary-General will be Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and its Special Adviser to the President of the Ocean Conference and Legal issues will be Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs. 

Furthermore, the UN emphasised, "To mobilize action, the Conference will seek to propel much needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.” 

According to the UN website, green technologies and creative utilisation of marine resources are the solutions for a sustainably managed ocean. “They also include addressing the threats to health, ecology, economy and governance of the ocean - acidification, marine litter and pollution, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and the loss of habitats and biodiversity.” 

80% of all life on Earth is found in the ocean

It is pertinent to note that up to 80% of all life on Earth is found in the ocean, which makes up 70% of the planet's surface and has the biggest biosphere. It produces 50% of the oxygen living organisms require, absorbs 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions, and absorbs 90% of the extra heat produced by those emissions. It further serves as both the planet's greatest carbon sink and "the lungs," acting as a crucial buffer against the effects of climate change, as per the UN.  

In order to spur coordinated efforts to follow up on the decisions made at the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference and maintain the momentum for the initiative to preserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, as well as marine resources for sustainable development, the UN Secretary-General Guterres appointed Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean in 2017. Moreover, World Oceans Day is an occasion for mankind to commemorate the ocean and was established by the UN on June 8. 

Apart from this, UN chief Guterres said in a tweet, “The ocean can be our biggest ally in responding to planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.” 

(Image: AP/ Unsplash)