8 June is World Oceans Day – established on 8 June 1992 during the environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro and recognised by the United Nations too in 2008 – to underline the importance of this inestimable common heritage, covering 71% of our planet. The oceans, in fact, regulate the climate, provide sustenance to millions of people every year, produce most of the oxygen we breathe, are home to an incredible amount of biodiversity, provide us with important drugs and much more!
The theme of the 2020 edition of World Ocean Day is “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean”, a very topical issue, at a time when attention to plastic free movements and behaviour has begun to have an international echo. Every year we produce more than 300 million tons of plastic, at least 8 million of which end up in the sea. If we do not change our lifestyle, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish.
In order to ensure the health and safety of present and future generations, it is important that each of us accepts the responsibility for taking care of the oceans, just as the oceans are taking care of us. Today the seas of the entire world are threatened by a growing human impact: overfishing, pollution, intensive development of maritime transport and infrastructures, and acidification caused by climate change, which has devastating impacts on many oceanic systems, in particular on coral reefs. Currently less than 4% of oceans are protected, so protected areas are a minimal part of the total area. Yet protecting the oceans would bring significant benefits, also from the economic point of view.
The celebration of this day will take place as a virtual event today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the initiative is carried out in collaboration with Oceanic Global, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the oceans. The event will highlight innovations from around the world in promising and proven areas of need, those that inspire optimism and those that have demonstrated the ability to operate effectively.
To find out more about the World Oceans Day, click here.