World Ocean Day (WOD) is celebrated annually every 8th of June. The concept was originally proposed over 30 years ago, in 1992, by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the annual Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Ocean Project started global coordination of World Ocean Day starting in 2002, and in 2008, led by Canada, the General Assembly resolved that 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day”.
In the interim, observation of Oceans Day had broadened and deepened. The need and scope for this was reflected in the broad range of concerns expressed in 2008 by the UN Secretary-General, including implementation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime space, international shipping, maritime security, marine science and technology, marine biological diversity, the marine environment and worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change and regional and international cooperation. The awareness and action spurred by observation of World Oceans Day would be crucial in all these areas.
For 2024, the World Ocean Day organizers have a new multi-year action theme: Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate. By growing the movement through transformative collaboration, the aim is to create not only a healthy blue planet, but also a more just, equitable and sustainable society.
Together, WOD wants to persuade national legislators and corporate leaders to follow through on their promises and all the big talk about doing the right thing, specifically:
- make the best use of all existing climate solutions;
- accelerate a just transition to clean and renewable energy;
- stop fossil fuel extraction, including oil, gas and coal;
- rapidly and equitably phase out its existing production including for single use plastics;
- collaborate with and amplify the voices of local leaders who are working to implement action within their communities;
- protect and restore natural coastal and ocean ecosystems (and on land) by creating strongly protected areas covering at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030; and
- keep on creating more solutions at the local, national and international levels that are based on the best science
By collaborating in transformative ways, we can all create a healthier and more abundant future. It’s ambitious, but the World Ocean Day network collaborating with a wide range of partners in the growing global movement has collectively achieved some major victories over the years.
To find out about more related events, and how to take action on your own, you can visit the World Ocean Day site.
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