“If you think it's your ocean, it's also your responsibility”
4 June 2004
“No mercy, no power but its own controls it. Panting and snorting like a mad battle steed that has lost its rider, the masterless ocean overruns the globe.”
Herman Melville
World Environment Day MessageBy Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon
 |
The power of the worlds oceans |
Since time immemorial, oceans have been a source of fascination and inspiration for writers and poets. They are also the life source that sustains us all. But today, the very energy and power of oceans Melville wrote so eloquently about, are under threat.
Death and disease caused by polluted coastal waters costs the global economy US$12.8 billion a year. 21 million barrels of oil find their way into the oceans every year. Climate change, the rise of sea levels and the destruction of coral reefs are a particular threat to Small Island Developing States - which constitute over half the membership of the Commonwealth. Destructive fishing practices are killing hundreds of thousands of marine species each year and populations of commercially attractive large fish have declined by as much as 90 per cent in the last century.
Yet, today more than ever, we depend on seas and oceans for our livelihood and our survival. Whether it is through trade, transport, food or health, oceans are at the heart of the life network that links us to our environment. Indeed, more than 3.5 billion people depend on the ocean for their primary source of food. Forty per cent of the world's population lives within 60 kilometres of a coast. More than 90 per cent of goods traded between countries are transported by sea.
But if our lives and well-being depend on oceans, oceans are also dependent on us for their survival. The protection of oceans and the marine environment is a duty we all share: governments, individuals, civil society and businesses must all be involved in safeguarding the Earth's seas and oceans.
Over the past few years, efforts have been deployed to protect our marine environment. But more needs to be done.
The Plan of Implementation adopted nearly two years ago at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) calls for a global marine assessment by 2004 and the development of a global network of marine protected areas by 2012. At their meeting last year, Commonwealth Environment Ministers highlighted areas where the Commonwealth was well placed to support the efforts of its developing member states in implementing outcomes of the WSSD, including:
- Facilitating partnerships announced at WSSD, by mobilising the Commonwealth as a network of networks representing governments, local governments, business, professional and civil society organisations.
- Preparing time-bound action plans to put into practice the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, through technical assistance and the exchange of best practice; and
- Addressing concerns related to climate change and biodiversity, concentrated on areas of comparative advantage, where the Commonwealth could add value through strategic gap-filling.
Today, on Environment Day, we should remember that we all have a role to play in protecting the environment and preserving ours seas and oceans. We all have a stake in the future of our planet and therefore, we all have a responsibility to protect ocean life for our own benefit and for the benefit of future generations.
Find out more about the Commonwealth Secretariat Environment Programmes
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