The 193 UN member nations have issued an urgent call for action to reverse the decline in the health and productivity of the world's oceans, with the United States backing the action plan, but rejecting its support for the Paris agreement to tackle climate change.
It recognises the critical importance of the world's seas to the future of the planet: Covering three-quarter of the Earth, they supply nearly half the oxygen that we breathe, absorb over a quarter of the carbon dioxide we produce, provide food, and play key roles in water cycles and the climate system.
The government leaders called on people and organisations everywhere to take action to reverse the threats from plastic garbage, illegal and excessive fishing, rising sea levels that could wipe out small islands, and increasing acidity of ocean water that is killing marine life. While the call for action was unanimously approved, countries are allowed to express reservations afterward.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Balton, who is in charge of oceans and fisheries, noted President Donald Trump's announcement on 1 June that the United States will withdraw from the Paris agreement or renegotiate US participation, which has already been rejected by other countries.
General Assembly President Peter Thomson, a veteran diplomat from Fiji, said his goal for the five-day conference was to start the reversal of the decline of the oceans.
"If it's dying, it's dying on all of us," he said. "When it comes to the ocean, there's no them and us. It's all of us or nothing." The call for action, while not legally binding, urges all "stakeholders" to take a series of urgent actions to heal the oceans.
A 2016 World Economic Forum report said the best research estimates that there is over 150 million ton of plastics in the ocean. The report said:
Other actions the governments urged include measures to protect coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs, and to "end destructive fishing practices and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing" and restore fish stocks "in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield."
In 2015, world leaders adopted new UN goals for 2030 including on conserving and managing the ocean's resources.
Many countries announced steps to reduce or eliminate the single use of plastics and stepped up efforts to reduce the amount of sewage and pollution entering the ocean. Many commitments focused on expanding scientific knowledge about the ocean, and there were new commitments on fishing, including "no-take zones" for certain species and measures to combat illegal fishing.
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