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WINTER 2017
Ocean change requires solutions – UN Oceans Envoy S
olutions to address human-induced “ocean change” are needed to save life in the ocean and reverse the cycle of decline in which it is caught, according to Fiji’s Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. Peter Thomson, visiting IMO in London, said that, as a Fijian, he had personally witnessed the degradation of the marine environment in his lifetime, citing marine litter and coral bleaching as just two examples. “As a grandfather I find these changes tragic. It is time for us to implement solutions to the ocean’s many problems,” he said. Special Envoy Thomson told a briefing of IMO staff that the UN Ocean Conference, held in New York in June 2017, had demonstrated a clear will and commitment by all sectors of the ocean community to support the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14. SDG14 calls for the world to conserve and sustainably use the resources of the ocean for sustainable development. “We are all aware of ‘climate change’; but we need to talk more about ‘ocean change’ and the effects of acidification, warming, plastic pollution, dead zones and so on,” Thomson said. “The world must know that we have a plan to save the ocean. As it stands, SDG14 represents the only universal commitment we have to save life in the ocean for our grandchildren to enjoy. We have a strategy to drive SDG14 and what is required over the next three years is concerted action.” The UN Ocean Conference resulted in a firm Call for Action declaration, subsequently adopted by consensus at the UN General Assembly, to support the implementation of SDG14. More than 1,400 voluntary commitments have been pledged as a result of the conference and these are now being shaped into “Communities of Ocean Action”. Special Envoy Thomson said he would be working closely with these communities to ensure the commitments were being developed and implemented into meaningful ocean action. He said he would be cooperating with Member States and the UN system to optimize the effectiveness of UN Oceans, the UN’s inter-agency mechanism for ocean action. Equally important, he said, would
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IMO Secretary-General Kitak Lim welcomes Peter Thompson, the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, to IMO headquarters
these are hosted by IMO. The 2016 Strategic be his work with civil society, the scientific community, the business sector, and other Plan for the London Protocol/Convention has relevant stakeholders, to coalesce and been registered as a voluntary commitment encourage their activities in support of the under SDG 14. implementation of SDG 14. IMO also fulfills secretariat functions Thomson emphasized that IMO, as the for the Joint Group of Experts on Scientific United Nations agency responsible for Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection developing and adopting (GESAMP), an advisory measures to improve the As a grandfather I find body of the United safety and security of these changes tragic. It is Nations. GESAMP has international shipping and to time for us to implement issued peer-reviewed prevent pollution from ships, reports on microplastics the solutions to ocean’s had an integral role to play in the marine many problems in the effort to meet SDG14’s environment and on targets. other relevant topics. IMO has adopted regulations to protect IMO is one of the partners in the Global the marine environment from ships, Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), which including the International Convention for the is managed by UN Environment, with IMO Prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL), co-leading on sea-based sources of marine and the Ballast Water Management litter together with the Food and Agricultural Convention, which aims to prevent the Organization (FAO). spread of potentially harmful aquatic Peter Thomson was appointed as Special invasive species. Envoy for the Ocean by United Nations IMO is the Secretariat for The London Secretary-General António Guterres Convention and Protocol, treaties which in September. regulate the dumping of wastes at sea, and www.imo.org