Ocean science research is key for a sustainable future
The ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface. It regulates our climate and holds vast and in some cases untouched resources. It provides us with basics such as food, materials, energy, and transportation, and we also enjoy the seascape for religious or recreational practices. Today, more than 40% of the global population lives in areas within 200 km of the ocean and 12 out of 15 mega cities are coastal. Doubling of the world population over the last 50 years, rapid industrial development, and growing human affluence are exerting increasing pressure on the ocean. Climate change, non-sustainable resource extraction, land-based pollution, and habitat degradation are threatening the productivity and health of the ocean. It is in this context that over the last few years, scientists and societal actors have organized a bottom-up movement, which has ultimately led to the United Nations General Assembly proclaiming a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030). In the process, governments, industry, and scientists have raised awareness of the rapid degradation and over-use of the ocean. The final document from the Rio+20 summit, The future we want, made extensive reference to the ocean, and the Global Ocean Commission articulated the need for more effective global ocean policies. Moreover, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes an explicit ocean goal (SDG14) that led to the first-ever UN Ocean conference to support its implementation.
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