Tag Archives: World Ocean Day

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Message on World Oceans Day: “Our Oceans, Our Future”, 8 June 2017

 The oceans make our home a blue planet.  The oceans regulate climate, generate oxygen, and provide ecosystem services, energy and minerals. The life teeming below their surfaces and along the shorelines is a source of food and medicines.   Oceans connect all of us, linking people and nations in cultural ties, and they are essential for sharing goods and services across the world.  The importance of our oceans to every single living being on our planet cannot be overstated. Today, we celebrate all that the oceans give us, and reaffirm our commitment to being good stewards.

On this World Oceans Day, we look to the future.  Caring for, and using, our oceans in sustainable ways is critical to achieve ecological and economic goals for communities everywhere.  However, the future of our oceans is burdened by numerous threats – such as climate change and ocean acidification, pollution, unsustainable and destructive fishing practices, – and the lack of capacities to address these threats.  Continue reading