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UN Chronicle - Volume 54, Issue 2, 2017
Volume 54, Issue 2, 2017
A must-read for every concerned world citizen, the United Nations Chronicle is a quarterly, easy-to-read report on the work of the United Nations and its agencies. Produced by the United Nations Department of Public Information, every issue covers a wide range of United Nations related activities: from fighting the drug war to fighting racial discrimination, from relief and development to nuclear disarmament, terrorism, and the worldwide environmental crisis.
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A Conference to #SaveOurOcean
Author: Hongbo WuFrom 5 to 9 June 2017, the United Nations will convene a major meeting to promote ocean sustainability. The United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development—better known as the Ocean Conference— will be the first United Nations forum of its kind on the issue, and an important step in reversing the decline of our oceans.
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Mobilizing the global community to achieve SDG 14
Author: Amina J. MohammedOne of the most intellectually engaging, politically challenging and personally gratifying periods of my life was the time I spent as an adviser to former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, working with Member States and people across the world to articulate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Adopted by world leaders at a moving ceremony in 2015, this landmark plan, encapsulated in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), points the way towards a future of dignity, prosperity and peace for all. At this still-early stage in our efforts to seize the Agenda’s potential and fulfil its promises, I am deeply honoured to have been asked by current Secretary-General António Guterres to serve as his Deputy, and thereby to again serve the world’s people in this essential work.
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The Ocean Conference: A game-changer
Author: Peter ThomsonThe Ocean is in dire need of our help. If the cycle of decline, in which it is currently caught, is allowed to continue, the deleterious impacts on the life-forms dwelling in, above and next to the Ocean may well become irreversible.
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Climate change poses a threat to our oceans
Author: Isabella LövinIn 2016, the First Global Integrated Marine Assessment, also known as the World Ocean Assessment I, was published. The introduction of the report is fascinating. It states that 70 per cent of the planet’s surface is covered by water and that the average depth is 4,000 metres. These oceans contain 97 per cent of all water on Earth, which is the equivalent of approximately 1.3 billion cubic kilometres. This can seem like an infinite amount.
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Protecting small island developing states from pollution and the effects of climate change
Author: Ahmed SareerThere are few more powerful symbols of the international community’s shared past and future than the ocean. From the earliest human migrations, it carried our ancestors to new continents, brought civilizations together, and opened the world to exploration and trade. It also connects us ecologically. Numerous fish species swim across territorial waters to spawn and feed, supporting billion-dollar fisheries and countless livelihoods. Most importantly, the ocean is the central force in regulating the global climate that sustains us all. In fact, scientists have shown that since the onset of the industrial age, the oceans have borne the brunt of consequences from excessive burning of fossil fuels, absorbing carbon dioxide emissions and the majority of the heat generated from global warming.
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A sea of islands: How a regional group of Pacific states is working to achieve SDG 14
Author: Meg TaylorThe health of our oceans is fundamental to the health of our planet. Ninety-eight per cent of the area occupied by Pacific Island countries and territories is ocean. We sometimes refer to ourselves as Big Ocean Stewardship States in recognition of this geography. The Pacific Ocean is at the heart of our cultures and we depend on it for food, income, employment, transport and economic development
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Know your ocean. Love your ocean.
Author: Emily PennI was woken in the middle of the night by a thud on the hull of our boat. We rushed up on deck to find we were surrounded by pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. It didn’t make any sense. We were over 1000 miles from land. The closest people to us were in the International Space Station, in orbit above our heads. And yet here was evidence of human life, and waste, all around us in one of the most remote parts of our planet.
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Save a whale, save a planet
Author: Leonardo DiCaprioIn 1997, a dramatic scene played out near Los Angeles as a newborn grey whale was discovered stranded in Marina del Rey. It had become separated from its mother during the annual migration from Alaska to Mexico. Hundreds of volunteers commandeered boats and moving vans and used makeshift stretchers to move this lone baby female whale over 100 miles to San Diego in a desperate attempt to save her life.
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Can we save coral reefs?
Author: Carrie ManfrinoThe United Nations has reported that 70 per cent of the Earth’s coral reefs are threatened: 20 per cent have already been destroyed with no hope for recovery, 24 per cent are under imminent risk of collapse, and an additional 26 per cent are at risk due to longer-term threats. Coastal ecosystem degradation is especially problematic, as 40 per cent (3.1 billion) of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of the ocean, which means that massive losses to coral reef ecosystems are also an economic and social issue.
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Achieving SDG 14: The Role of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Author: Miguel de Serpa SoaresOceans, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical to sustainable development. They cover more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface and contain 97 per cent of the planet’s water. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by providing opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and decent work. Over 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal resources as a means of support. In addition, oceans play a crucial role in the achievement of global food security, as well as human health and well-being. They are the primary regulator of the global climate, function as an important sink for greenhouse gases, serve as the host for huge reservoirs of biodiversity and play a major role in producing the oxygen we breathe.
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We must protect the bounty and beauty of the sea
Author: Edward NortonPresident John F. Kennedy, in a speech made at an event for the 1962 America’s Cup race crews, said, “I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. […] We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”
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Protecting the coral sea—the cradle to the great barrier reef
Author: Adele PedderThe world’s oceans are facing increasing challenges, with threats posed by climate change, pollution and overfishing. In the light of these challenges it is becoming increasingly important to set aside large areas of our ocean to allow ecosystems to operate in their natural state. Globally, more and more nations are relying on marine protected areas and reserves to give their regions of our blue planet a fighting chance.
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The International Seabed Authority and deep seabed mining
Author: Michael LodgeThe deep ocean below 200 metres is the largest habitat for life on Earth and the most difficult to access. The sea floor, just like the terrestrial environment, is made up of mountain ranges, plateaus, volcanic peaks, canyons and vast abyssal plains. It contains most of the same minerals that we find on land, often in enriched forms, as well as minerals that are unique to the deep ocean, such as ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic nodules.
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Maintaining healthy ocean fisheries to support livelihoods: Achieving SDG 14 in Europe
Author: Karmenu Vella“The problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole.” So says the preamble to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea—and never were those words more apt than in relation to the challenges we face today.
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The Arctic Ocean and the sea ice is our nuna
Author: Okalik EegeesiakThe Arctic is our Nunaat—our homeland. Nuna is land; Nunaat is homeland. As Inuit, we are intimately connected to the past, both distant and more recent. Why are we so closely tied to the Arctic marine ecosystem? We depend on it for our identity as indigenous peoples of the Arctic, for food security, for our transportation needs and mobility—for our future.
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The role of the International Maritime Organization in preventing the pollution of the world’s oceans from ships and shipping
Author: Kitack LimShipping is a key user of the oceans, delivering more than 80 per cent of world trade, taking ferry passengers to their destinations and carrying millions of tourists on cruises. Annually, more than 50,000 seagoing ships carry between them more than 10 billion tons of vital and desired cargoes, including commodities, fuel, raw materials and consumer goods.
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Making the ocean a partner in our quest for a sustainable future
Author: José Graziano da SilvaHumanity owes much to the oceans in many aspects of life. In fact, oceans are essential in providing invaluable ecosystems and climate regulation, as well as important cultural support to the millions of people who live near the sea.
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Engaging youth to conserve coastal and marine environments
Author: Kerstin ForsbergAs I write this article, my country, Peru, is experiencing one of its greatest natural disasters of all time. Due to a phenomenon known locally as the coastal El Niño, intense warm ocean currents have caused heavy rainfall in some parts of the country, which led to flooding and landslides that have severely impacted the lives of over a million people.
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Marine biodiversity and ecosystems underpin a healthy planet and social well-being
Author: Cristiana Pasca PalmerIn no other realm is the importance of biodiversity for sustainable development more essential than in the ocean. Marine biodiversity, the variety of life in the ocean and seas, is a critical aspect of all three pillars of sustainable development—economic, social and environmental— supporting the healthy functioning of the planet and providing services that underpin the health, wellbeing and prosperity of humanity.
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