In Portugal's capital, the United Nations (UNOC )'s second ocean conference has started. Drastic measures are particularly necessary with regard to pollution with plastic and other garbage, said UN General Secretary António Guterres at the opening of the five-day meeting. The world's oceans are increasingly suffering from littering, overfishing and dying, from warming and acidification, from decreasing coral and glacier. The situation is so serious that even representatives of Russia and Ukraine want to cooperate in Lisbon.
The oceans are "threatened by human activities to an never-time extent," says the UNOC homepage. Few numbers also make laypersons clear the extent of the problem. Keyword plastic: Eleven million tons of plastic are tipped into the oceans every year, and this amount will increase in the coming decades. The pictures of sea turtles that get caught in fishing nets, from seabirds that feed their chicks with plastic parts, or dolphins that swallow shopping bags, are already part of everyday life.
At the same time, the warming caused by climate change and also the acidification of the oceans "advance at an alarming pace", the International Environmental Protection Organization OceanCare let you know about the conference. If warming continues, the Arctic will be practically ice -free for the first time before 2050 in summer. The increase in sea level threatens islands and complete coastal areas. “We know what needs to be done. That is why it is sobering to watch the collective failure of the whole world, «complained OceanCare managing director Fabienne McLellan. "What we need now are sensible and brave measures that are measurable and implementable."
The Swiss is not the only one who will be pushing in Lisbon. In addition to government delegations from about 150 countries, including Germany with Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (The Greens), in addition to researchers and representatives of the private sector, members of hundreds of non-governmental organizations have also announced themselves.
Steffi Lemke said in advance: »If we do not end the destruction of the sea, we not only endanger wonderful natural treasures, but also our own livelihoods. Sea protection helps us in the fight against the climate crisis, the pollution crisis and the extinction of species. "One has to think more" and bring about the protection of the seas and oceans as well as the nature and environmentally friendly use ".
The minister emphasized that Germany is developing a national strategy: "A separate sub -department of marine protection within the ministry is currently under construction." In addition, the Federal Government's first marine officer will start work this summer.
The UN's plans are always ambitious. The aim is to launch joint measures to save the huge ecosystem at the only conference of the world community devoted exclusively to the world's oceans. This is the 14th of a total of 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. Among other things, 30 percent of the oceans are to be protected in eight years. According to Greenpeace, it is currently less than three percent, but there are various data.
No reason for optimism
But is it possible to be optimistic at all before the meeting, which is taking place with a two-year delay due to corona? On the question of whether concrete results are within reach, the UN says that there will be a declaration on the implementation and facilitation of the protection and conservation of the oceans. And it is expected that "all stakeholders, from governments to companies to civil society, will make concrete and realistic voluntary commitments to address the various marine-related issues that affect their communities, countries and beyond".
The problem lies with the term "voluntarily". Maria Santos from the Portuguese environmental organization Zero is not alone with her opinion: »Lisbon's explanation will not be binding. This very much questions the effectiveness, «she said in advance.
Among those who, according to the UNOC, will be looking for "innovative, scientifically based solutions" in Lisbon are the American Special Representative for Climate Change and former Secretary of State John Kerry, his Russian colleague Ruslan Edelgeriev, a close confidant of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, and UN Secretary General António Guterres, among others. Heads of state and government such as Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson may also want to stop by, according to the Portuguese government.
Sea protection is necessary for survival
They all know exactly: "It is not only" about survival of endangered marine animals such as yellow-fin-tuna, parrot divers, blue whale, blue shark, smooth spell, karet tortoises and many more. The world's oceans, which cover over 70 percent of the surface of the earth and accommodate more than 80 percent of life on earth, are also vital for humans. They are working and nutritional basis for billions. They are a crucial part of the global climate system, produce over half of the oxygen that we breathe and absorb around a quarter of all CO2 emissions.
The Portuguese Maria Santos, like so many, is nevertheless skeptical that it will soon be possible to overcome "the incompatibility of most environmental protection goals with those of the economy". But the Minister of Economy and Maritime Affairs of your country, António Costa e Silva, as the host of the conference, spoke quite clearly some time ago: "We have turned the seas into something like the toilets of the planet. It's time to say no.«
