The full text of the UN’s First Global Integrated Marine Assessment (The World Ocean Assessment) was released online today. It had been welcomed by the General Assembly in December. It was the first time that the General Assembly was provided with a comprehensive scientific and socioeconomic assessment to guide its decisions on oceans.
The report clearly states that delays in addressing the problems that have already been identified threaten to degrade the world’s oceans and incur great environmental, social and economic costs. Sustainable use of the oceans cannot be achieved without a coherent management of all sectors of human activities. The experts warn about the cumulative impacts, stressing the oceans’ carrying capacity is near or at its limit.
The World Ocean Assessment is intended to reinforce the science-policy interface by providing a scientific basis for informed decisions on ocean issues by governments and other policy makers. The General Assembly encouraged States to consider the assessment in various processes, such as the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, and recognized the supporting role of the Assessment in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The report is available here
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