World Oceans Day has been hosted annually since 1992 and is an international event spearheaded by the UN. It was first put forward by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the intention of giving ocean and coastal communities a greater say in the development of international environmental agreements and ensuring that such agreements recognised the role of thriving oceans in creating a sustainable future.
Fast-forward 30 years and the fact that healthy oceans are needed for social and environmental sustainability has only become clearer, due to improved science. The oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the extra heat generated by man-made activity since 1970 and sequestered about a quarter of human-caused emissions in the same timeframe. Around half of the global population depend on oceans for their livelihoods, according to the OECD.
Scientists have also been tracking how ocean…
