Top UN official underlines importance of healthy oceans

The UN deputy secretary-general, Jan Eliasson, said here Monday that healthy oceans are critical to maintaining life on the planet, streesing their connection to broader sustainable development aims.

Addressing the opening of the 40th annual Conference of the Center for Oceans Law and Policy, Eliasson said that oceans are fundamental to meeting many of the world's most pressing challenges, such as fighting hunger, providing clean energy and countering climate change.

"They regulate the climate and provide an incredible range of natural resources, nutritious food, and jobs that benefit billions of people," he said, while cautioning that humans' impact on oceans and seas is taking a heavy toll.

"Many marine species are at serious risk from ocean warming and over-fishing," he said.

Meanwhile, Eliasson drew attention to the threats posed by rising sea levels to small island nations, which "bear so little responsibility for climate change but are on the frontlines of its imprint on their nations and people."

The conference, organized in cooperation with the UN Office of Legal Affairs, focuses on the legal order for the world's oceans and the regime under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

It is also the first annual conference since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015 in the French capital.

Noting the importance of oceans in the 2030 Agenda, as reflected in the 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, Mr. Eliasson asked everyone to reflect on the intersections between the rule of law and the SDGs, approved by world leaders here in September 2015 to serve as the blueprint for the global development efforts for the next 15 years.

He also welcomed the international conference to be held in Fiji in June 2017 on oceans and SDG 14.

Eliasson further noted the importance of rule of law in sustainable development and said that "the right balance" must be struck between rights and responsibilities.

"The decisions we make now on the sustainable use of ocean resources stand to benefit millions of people, for generations to come," he said. "We must renew our efforts to protect our oceans and use their resources peacefully, equitably and sustainably for generations to come." Endit