We live on a blue planet. Our oceans support all life on Earth. They regulate our climate by absorbing heat and carbon. They feed billions of people, and provide livelihoods for just as many. We need to protect our oceans like our lives depended on it, because they do.
But centuries of industrial human activity has driven the oceans into crisis. Habitats and species are being lost more quickly than ever before. More than half of the world’s marine species could be on the brink of extinction by the end of this century. The oceans’ ability to shelter us from our changing climate is rapidly being damaged, and just one form of industrial fishing, bottom trawling, releases as much carbon annually as the global aviation industry.
We’ve seen industrial fishing up close and the sheer scale of it is horrifying. Thousands of animals dragged out of the water and killed, after heavy fishing gear has been dragged along the seabed destroying vital marine habitats. Ancient coral, killed dragged up off the seafloor and discarded.
Thankfully, scientists have given us a solution which would help protect our oceans and allow them to recover.
It’s called 30×30. That means fully protecting at least 30% of our planet’s oceans by 2030. Scientists agree this is the minimum required to give our oceans a chance of recovering.
2030 might seem a long way off, but protecting 30% of our planet’s oceans is a huge task, and it takes time. Currently, less than 3% of the oceans are protected so we still have a long way to go.
The clock is truly ticking. We need a strong Global Ocean Treaty to be agreed this August at the United Nations. This will create the framework to deliver genuine protection as today there’s no way we can create ocean sanctuaries across our global oceans, let alone by 2030.
More than 100 governments have now publicly committed to delivering this ambitious target. But many of these same governments continue to allow ocean destruction and want the broken status quo to continue.
And that’s why time is running out. We can’t afford any more delay or empty words from governments. They must seize the opportunity this year, and finally agree a strong Global Ocean Treaty.
The world, and every future generation, will judge our leaders by what they deliver or don’t deliver, in New York this August.
From destructive fishing and mining, to climate change – the threats facing our oceans are growing greater by the day. We urgently need a network of ocean sanctuaries across the globe to protect them.
