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Celebrating One Year Anniversary of The Ocean Conference
The UN Ocean Conference, held at UN Headquarters in June 2017, brought together more than 4000 participants from governments, the UN system and other intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, academia, the scientific community and the private sector. The Conference resulted in a number of ambitious outcomes, including the adoption of the "Our Ocean, Our Future: Call for Action" declaration, co-chairs' summaries of the seven partnership dialogues that were held during the Conference, and over 1400 voluntary commitments made in support of SDG 14 by various stakeholders.

As reported in previous issues of the Ocean Action Newsletter, many important developments related to SDG 14 have taken place since June last year, including: the appointment of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean Mr. Peter Thomson; the launch of nine new Communities of Ocean Action to follow-up on the voluntary commitments on SDG 14; the proclamation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development by the United Nations General Assembly; and the decision of the General Assembly to convene an Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference). View Ocean Action Anniversary issue
Celebrating World Oceans Day, 8 June 2018
The United Nations World Oceans Day Portal is your hub for information on all of the events that are happening near you on June 8th. Here you can follow major World Oceans Day initiatives and projects and learn more about our shared ocean through a wealth of resources available, like videos, photos, articles and even books. You can make your own pledge to protect the ocean for future generations and share on social media. And you can become a World Oceans Day champion by organizing your own events and activities. Make sure that you register your events so that others can see it and join in. The Portal is coordinated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS). The Portal has been developed thanks to the support of the SUEZ Group.
Communities of Ocean Action
To follow-up on the implementation of the voluntary commitments registered and announced at The Ocean Conference for implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14); to catalyze and generate new voluntary commitments; and to facilitate collaboration and networking amongst different actors in support of SDG 14, the United Nations have launched nine thematic multi-stakeholder Communities of Ocean Action. Read more
Registry of Voluntary Commitments for Sustainable Development Goal 14
More than 1,400 Voluntary Commitments aimimg to contribute to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 have been registered by all stakeholders, in the lead up to The Ocean Conference and its follow up processes. Read more
Special Envoy for the Ocean
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Peter Thomson of Fiji as his Special Envoy for the Ocean, aiming at galvanizing concerted efforts to follow up on the outcomes of the United Nations Ocean Conference in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Read more
Communities of Ocean Action
Coral reefs
Implementation of international law as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Mangroves
Marine and coastal ecosystems management
Marine pollution
Ocean acidification
Scientific knowledge, research capacity development and transfer of marine technology
Sustainable blue economy
Sustainable fisheries

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Updates & New Voluntary Commitments
Progress update
Aruba Plastic Bag Ban , #OceanAction20744
We conducted a site inspection next to landfill which was the worst affected area. The mangrove roots are very clean compared to before the ban. The guestimate for the adoption is approximately 80%. As of March 2018, enforcement is in place to close the gap to 100%. As of June 8, a foundation was launched together with private sector partners. On J [more]
Progress update
Promote, sustainably use, and protect kadalamma-the Mother Sea-with indigenous fisherfolk, #OceanAction14351
Marine debris clean-up drive at Kovalam - A community participation\r\n\r\nKovalam stand apart with its unique feature of seabed composed of wide spread near inshore rocky reefs which extend up to seven kilometers. These rocky reefs accommodate flourishing mussel colonies which the local fishermen depends on. During the monsoon season nearby estu [more]
Progress update
Strengthening institutional capacity and research in oceans at The University of the South Pacific, #OceanAction19944
The partnership has progressed in full compliance with the Voluntary Commitment submitted at the UN Oceans Conference. This has involved staff recruitment, engagement with government and new higher education course design in relation to SDG14 (life below water).
Progress update
The Pacific Partnership on Ocean Acidification, #OceanAction15798
Monaco came on board as a partner with a modest funding contribution. Test sites have been established in Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and the Territory of Tokelau. Resilience to Ocean Acidification impacts is incorporated into planning and decision making at a national and regional level in the Pacific, indicator At least 30% women on stakeholder consu [more]
New Commitment
Blue Planning in Practice: Worldwide MSP training offer to enable ecosystem-based marine and coastal planning and management, #OceanAction25529
Capacity Development is a key element of the Blue Solutions Initiative. Through different formats and cooperation with various partner institutions, we seek to ... enhance capacities for scaling up success ... provide learning opportunities and trainings on Blue Solutions themes ... support policy processes to facilitate blue solutions. Co [more]
New Commitment
Encouraging exchange of experiences and lessons learned regarding the sustainable management and use of marine and coastal resources, #OceanAction25533
The Blue Solutions Initiative uses different formats to facilitate the exchange of experiences and lessons learned of sustainable marine and coastal biodiversity management: The PANORAMA partnership and its online platform PANORAMA - Solutions for a Healthy Planet [www.panorama.solutions/en/explorer] is a partnership initiative to docume [more]
New Commitment
Paddling for a Cleaner ocean , #OceanAction25293
Lucy Graham and Mathilde Gordon set out to kayak over 2000km from Juneau (Alaska) to Vancouver Island (Canada) over 3 months to raise awareness about marine debris and promote women in adventure. The trip will take 3 months in total and they are doing it completely singe-use plastic-free. Marine debris is an issue that is affecting our oceans wo [more]
New Commitment
Stronger commitment to dolphin protection, #OceanAction24394
Hotelplan Suisse is strengthening its cooperation with the Swiss NGO OceanCare, with a particular focus on dolphin protection. The aim is to advise customers against visiting dolphinaria and swimming with dolphins by educating and raising awareness of the issue. Such activities will no longer be advertised. Hotelplan Suisse and OceanCare aim to ra [more]
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