The Sustainable Oceans Alliance commits to encouraging entrepreneurship, providing leadership opportunities, and building a global university network. SOA encourages entrepreneurship by building youth networks, promoting youth-led start-ups, and promoting research as the first step in developing problem-solving solutions. SOA gives youth access to high-level conversation and a platform to showcase their ideas and solutions that can protect our oceans. Leadership opportunities include United Nations conferences, Our Ocean Leadership Summits, global forums etc. To reinforce our mission, SOA is committed to growing a global network, as we hope to have 200 global university chapters by 2018, each focused on developing advocacy campaigns targeting local elected officials, hosting community-centered impact events, and raising awareness about the common responsibility to protect our ocean.
Progress reports
By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
Type of commitment
PLASTICS
- Coastal clean-ups
- Plastics recovery/recycling/reuse
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
Type of commitment
- Community or Locally Managed Marine Areas
Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
Type of commitment
- Other (please specify): Develop research on how increased carbon emissions can lead to ill human health effects.
By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information
By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation
By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries
Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets
Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
Type of commitment
- Activities to raise awareness of the comprehensive legal and policy framework for the sustainable development of oceans and seas, in particular UNCLOS, its Implementing Agreements and other relevant ocean-related instruments and promote their effective im
- Strengthening ocean governance, for example through the development of a national ocean policy or regional ocean policy
December 2017
