The United Nations expressed concern about the deterioration of the global marine ecology in recent years and called for joint protection of the ocean to achieve sustainable development (International Perspective)

Reporter Zhang Penghui, Zhu Dongjun, Lv Qiang, and Xie Yahong

Core Reading

Affected by over-exploitation of resources and environmental pollution, the marine ecological environment continues to be damaged. At present, countries around the world, especially coastal countries, are stepping up efforts to achieve comprehensive governance of the ocean and promote the global marine protection agenda.

The United Nations recently released the second global marine comprehensive assessment report, expressing concern about the deterioration of the global marine ecology in recent years. UN Secretary-General Guterres said at the report release conference that pressure from human activities continues to harm the ocean. He called on all stakeholders to listen to the warnings issued by scientists, take positive actions, jointly protect the ocean and achieve sustainable development.

The current situation of marine protection is not optimistic

The global marine comprehensive assessment report comprehensively evaluates the overall situation of the global ocean from economic, social and environmental perspectives. In 2015, the United Nations released the first Global Marine Comprehensive Assessment Report, pointing out that the ocean is facing problems such as rising sea temperatures, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification, which have extensive impacts on the environment and socio-economy.

More than 300 scientists from around the world participated in the writing of this report. The report pointed out that in the past 50 years, the area of low-oxygen seas in the world has tripled, nearly 90% of mangroves, seagrasses and wetland plants, and more than 30% of seabirds are threatened with extinction, weakening the ocean's role in regulating the global climate. The number of "dead water zones" with extremely low oxygen content in the world's oceans has increased from more than 400 in 2008 to nearly 700 in 2019. The economic losses caused by overfishing are as high as US$88.9 billion each year.

The World Meteorological Organization also recently reiterated the importance of strengthening marine ecological protection. The theme of this year's "World Meteorological Day" is "Ocean, Our Climate and Weather", which aims to help people understand more deeply the inseparable connection between the ocean, climate and weather. The World Meteorological Organization said that the ocean occupies more than 70% of the earth's surface, affecting the world's climate and weather, and supporting the global economy and food security.

"Due to greenhouse gas emissions, ocean heat has reached record levels and ocean acidification has continued unabated. The impact of this change will last for hundreds of years. Nearly 40% of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast, so there is an urgent need to improve the comprehensive disaster warning system to protect people from multiple disasters such as waves, storm surges and rising sea levels." said Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.

Countries take comprehensive measures to strengthen governance

Faced with the current situation of continuous pollution and damage to the marine environment, countries around the world, especially coastal countries, are taking actions to comprehensively manage and protect the ocean. The report pointed out that measures taken by some countries and regions such as establishing marine protected areas and restricting marine fishing have contributed to the improvement of the marine environment, regional marine monitoring projects have continued to expand, and international coordination and integration have continued to deepen, which has produced positive effects.

As a low-lying country, the Netherlands has previously expanded its land area by reclamation. In recent years, the Netherlands has placed great importance on maintaining the ecological balance of the ocean, protecting biodiversity, and achieving sustainable development of the marine economy, and has issued a number of laws, regulations, and policy guidelines. Taking the development and protection of the North Sea as an example, the Netherlands has formulated the 2050 North Sea Spatial Agenda, which involves five major issues, including protecting the ecology, achieving offshore energy transformation, and comprehensive development and utilization. At present, the area of nature reserves in the coastal areas of the Netherlands continues to increase, and some places have achieved the return of farmland to water to better protect the marine ecology.

The South African government promulgated the Marine Spatial Planning Act in 2019 to regulate the monitoring, development, and protection of marine resources in the form of law and promote the sustainable development of the marine economy. South Africa has also vigorously expanded the number and area of marine protected areas. Currently, 42 marine protected areas have been designated, accounting for 5% of the country's coastal waters from 0.43% in 2016 to 2020. Marine protected areas provide a "safe haven" for fish spawning, protect ecologically sensitive and endangered marine species and their habitats, and provide ecological corridors for the migration of animals such as seabirds, sharks, and turtles. According to the South African government's plan, at least 25% of coastal waters will be included in marine protected areas in the future, of which 15% will be strictly closed to fishing.

The Caribbean island nation of Jamaica has jurisdiction over an area of ocean 24 times its land area. The country plans to achieve sustainable management of 100% of the marine areas under its jurisdiction by 2025. Jamaica has also formulated a 2030 vision to advocate sustainable management and utilization of environmental resources. For this purpose, a national marine and coastal area management committee composed of multiple institutions has been established. Starting in 2019, Jamaica will ban the import, manufacture, distribution and use of certain types of plastic products in stages, and increase efforts to recycle, reuse and reduce plastic products to reduce marine plastic waste.

International cooperation needs to be further strengthened

UNESCO pointed out that the ocean is an important part of the earth's ecology, supporting global climate stability and related to human well-being. At present, the degradation of the marine environment has intensified, which has had a negative impact on the structure and function of the marine ecosystem. By 2050, the global population is expected to reach 9 billion, which will put greater pressure on the marine ecosystem. Therefore, the international community urgently needs to adjust its response strategy and formulate relevant policies based on science.

Scientists suggest that countries should strengthen coordination and cooperation, promote the construction of marine protection capacity in developing countries, strengthen marine science and technology innovation, and build a multidisciplinary marine detection system. Taking overfishing as an example, if countries formulate and implement appropriate protection policies, half of the overfished waters can be restored to a healthy state in about 10 years, and 98% of overfished areas can be successfully restored by the middle of this century.

In order to increase research on marine science and promote international cooperation in the field of marine protection, the United Nations has designated 2021 to 2030 as the "United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development", and with the authorization of the United Nations General Assembly, established the "Intergovernmental Oceanographic Science Committee" under the framework of UNESCO to coordinate the progress of marine science research, promote international cooperation in related scientific research fields, and support relevant countries in applying marine science for marine environmental protection and sustainable development.

In April this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization and 30 countries jointly launched the "Global Garbage Governance Partnership Project" to work together to solve the problem of marine garbage. The project covers many seas in Asia and Africa. All parties will work together to coordinate exchanges between partner countries while strengthening technical assistance and training. The International Maritime Organization also called for compliance with relevant international conventions, such as prohibiting the discarding of plastic products from ships into the ocean.

The United Nations Environment Programme and the International Coral Reef Initiative recently jointly launched a donation program to provide financial assistance to projects protecting three marine habitats: coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass, focusing on "sustainable management and protection of vulnerable marine and coastal ecosystems", and specially set up projects for developing countries, least developed countries and small island countries to support these countries in adopting scientific marine protection policies. At present, five projects, including the financing project for Kenya's mangrove ecosystem and the project to restore coral reefs damaged by hurricanes in Central America, have received financial support.

China has been actively fulfilling its commitment to protecting the ocean, participating in international cooperation on marine protection, and proposing the concept of a community with a shared future for the ocean. China has established blue partnerships with Portugal, the European Union, Seychelles and other countries, and strengthened coordination and collaboration in the fields of blue economy, marine environmental protection, disaster prevention and mitigation, marine science and technology, and jointly promoted the continuous improvement of the global ocean governance system. China is also promoting the application of independent marine environmental security technologies in countries along the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", and providing Chinese technologies and solutions in marine observation and monitoring, marine environmental forecasting, and marine ecological protection.

(Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, Beijing, May 20)

People's Daily (May 21, 2021, 17th edition)

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