World leaders attending the UN Ocean Conference in Nice have been told to come up with concrete ideas -- and money -- to tackle what organisers call a global “emergency” facing the neglected seas.
On the eve of the summit, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that leaders must act now: “The planet can no longer tolerate broken promises.”
“Never in the history of humanity have we brought together so many people for the oceans,“ French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday before hosting leaders for an official dinner.
On Monday, the United Kingdom is expected to announce a partial ban on bottom trawling in half its marine protected areas, putting the destructive fishing method squarely on the summit agenda.
Greenpeace welcomed the UK announcement on trawling but said in a statement it was “long overdue”.
French environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told reporters Sunday that other countries would make “important announcements” about the creation of new marine protected areas.
Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.
Words into action
Small island states are expected in numbers at the summit, to demand money and political support to combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks.
But diplomats and other observers said it could mark a much-needed turning point in global ocean conservation if leaders rose to the occasion.
Another summit priority will be inching towards the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on protecting the high seas beyond national control.
France is also spearheading a push for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( UN summit to tackle 'emergency' in world's oceans )
Also on site :