United Nations, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations will hold its first ocean conference from June 5 to 9 to reverse the deterioration of the Marine ecological environment and promote the implementation of the sustainable development goals on oceans, President of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNG) Thomas said on June 1.

Thomson and UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo held a briefing on the conference on the same day. Thomson said the conference will be the first step in reversing the deterioration of the state of the oceans to ensure that Goal 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and Marine resources for sustainable development, can be implemented. Wu Hongbo said that 193 member States of the United Nations will send representatives to attend the conference, including more than a dozen heads of state and government and more than 70 ministers. The participants will also include nearly 5,000 people from the business community, academia, civil society and Marine experts.

Participants will adopt a declaration of action and make voluntary commitments on the implementation of Goal 14 before and during the conference, Wu said. He said more than 500 commitments have been made so far, covering each specific target in the 14th goal. During the meeting, a series of dialogues will be held on Marine pollution, Marine ecological protection, ocean acidification, sustainable fisheries and Marine scientific research capacity, and conference reports will be issued.

According to the data provided by the United Nations, the ocean covers about 72% of the global area, and the population in coastal areas accounts for about 37% of the global population. The pressing problems concerning the oceans include Marine pollution, overfishing, sea level rise caused by climate change and ocean acidification. Among them, the problem of plastic waste polluting the oceans cannot be ignored. Data show that more than 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, causing serious impacts on Marine life, fisheries, tourism and economic losses of 8 billion US dollars.

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