Imagine the world without water, seeing today’s scenario the need to protect the ocean is important as it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The ocean has great impact in everyone life who is living on this globe. We have seen people throwing dangerous substances into the ocean, which has led to ecosystems being suffering and become endangered along with lives of people and of marine life. Oceans are an essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem, a source of biodiversity, food, and life. As per FAO has stated saying, “over 40 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometres of the coast. Better management of the ocean resources is thus crucial to ensuring global food security.”
We are never too young to start learning about the many benefits our oceans provide. Without them, life could not exist. You will be shocked to hear that Oceans are an important source of food. The reason being that they host 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity, and are the largest ecosystem on Earth. Fish provide 20 percent of animal protein to about 3 billion people. Today across the world, is celebrated World Oceans Day. The reason World Ocean Day is celebrated on 8th June to spread awareness among people about the negative impact of human activities such as garbage disposal, sewage, oil leaks from ships and drilling station accidents.
On June 8, 1992, at the Earth Summit of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Oceans Institute of Canada projected the idea of the observance of an international ocean’s day. It took 16 more years for this concept to become a reality. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly, led by Canada, passed the resolution 63/111, through which they declared that June 8 would be observed every year as World Ocean’s Day. The inaugural observance happened a year later and had the theme “Our Ocean, Our Responsibility.”
This year theme World Oceans Day is “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods.” The United Nations had revealed a report stating that more than three billion people work ocean-based industries and that number will rise with a growing human population. Sustainable use of oceans is needed to prevent oceanic resources from being depleted or damaged to alarming levels. The main aim is to strengthening international cooperation to develop scientific research and innovative technologies that are capable of connecting ocean science with the needs of modern society.
Oceans are considered to be the lungs of the planet, a critical part of the biosphere and are a major source of food and medicine. The United Nations was quoted saying “The purpose of the day is to inform and educate the public about the impact of human actions on the oceans, develop a worldwide movement of citizens and mobilise and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans.”
The UN has also announced that a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which will start this year and run till 2030. The Main purpose is to encourage cooperation among nations for research and the creation of technologies that help both the oceans and our society.
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