Ocean issues are human rights issues. The right to a clean, healthy environment by UN News, Nature, IPCC, OHCHR, agencies 6:23pm 10th Jun, 2025   9 June 2025    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the Third United Nations Ocean Conference on Monday, delivering a blunt indictment of humanity’s fractured relationship with the sea.    “The ocean is the ultimate shared resource,” he told delegates gathered at the port of Nice. “But we are failing it.”    Oceans, he warned, are absorbing 90 per cent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions and buckling under the strain: overfishing, rising temperatures, plastic pollution, acidification.    Coral reefs are dying. Fish stocks are collapsing. Rising seas, he said, could soon “submerge deltas, destroy crops, and swallow coastlines — threatening many islands’ survival.”    Over 120 countries are participating in the five-day gathering in France, known by the shorthand UNOC3, signaling a growing recognition that ocean health is inseparable from climate stability, food security, and global equity.    French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country is co-hosting the summit alongside Costa Rica, appealled for regard for science, law, and multilateral resolve.    “The abyss is not for sale, any more than Greenland is for sale, any more than Antarctica or the high seas are for sale,” he declared. “If the Earth is warming, the ocean is boiling.”    He insisted the fate of the seas could not be left to markets or opinion. “The first response is therefore multilateralism,” Mr. Macron said. “The climate, like biodiversity, is not a matter of opinion; it is a matter of scientifically established facts.”    Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles issued a stark warning. “The ocean is speaking to us — with bleached coral reefs, with storms, with wounded mangroves,” he said. “There’s no time left for rhetoric. Now is the time to act.” Condemning decades of treating the ocean as a “global waste dump,” Mr. Chaves urged a shift from exploitation to stewardship.    The Costa Rican leader called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in international waters until science can adequately assess the risks — a position already backed by 33 countries, he noted.    “The ocean is facing an unprecedented crisis due to climate change, plastic pollution, ecosystem loss, and the overuse of marine resources,” Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, who is also serving as Secretary-General of the event, told UN News.    The crisis isn’t a distant threat: it’s happening now. In April, global sea surface temperatures hit their second-highest levels ever for that month, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Meanwhile, the most extensive coral bleaching event in recorded history is underway — sweeping across the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Pacific. More than a single event, it’s a planetary unraveling.    Coral reefs, which sustain a quarter of all marine species and underpin billions in tourism and fisheries, are vanishing before our eyes. Their collapse could unleash cascading effects on biodiversity, food security, and climate resilience.    And the damage runs deeper still. The ocean continues to absorb more than 90 per cent of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions — a worldwide service that may be nearing its limits. “Challenges like plastic pollution, overfishing, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and warming are all linked to climate change,” Mr. Li warned.    Despite its vital role in regulating life on Earth — producing half of our oxygen and buffering against climate extremes — the ocean remains chronically underfunded. Sustainable Development Goal 14 , on ‘Life Below Water’, receives the least resources of the 17 global UN goals Member States agreed to meet by 2030.    The estimated cost to protect and restore marine ecosystems over the next five years is $175 billion annually. “But less than $10 billion was allocated between 2015 and 2019,” Mr. Li noted, signaling the need to move on ocean funding.    Up to 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year — the equivalent of a garbage truck every minute. Over 60 per cent of marine ecosystems are degraded or unsustainably used. Global fish stocks within safe biological limits have plunged from 90 per cent in the 1970s to just 62 per cent in 2021.    More than 3 billion people rely on marine biodiversity to survive. The summit aims to bolster efforts toward protecting 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030.    Minna Epps, who runs the Ocean Program at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), spoke to UN News ahead of the Conference: How serious is the marine biodiversity crisis?    Minna Epps: We’re in really dire straits. If we don't protect and restore the Ocean this is going to have devastating consequences for all those services that we are dependent on. The entire climate is dependent on the Ocean as a climate regulator. However, we don't want the Ocean to absorb more carbon dioxide, because that's what makes it acidic, so we need to start by cutting emissions.    If you are in an airplane and you fly over a forest, you can see deforestation, that a habitat has been lost. The same thing is happening in the Ocean, but we can't really see it.    Another effect of climate change is marine heat waves, when water temperature increases over an extended period. A marine heat wave in Panama wiped out around 75 per cent of coral diversity. Or take coral reefs. These make up less than one per cent of the Ocean, but almost 25 per cent of marine species depend on them..    http://news.un.org/en/tags/un-ocean-conference http://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025 http://iucn.org/events/external-event/un-oceans-conference-2025 http://iucn.org/resources/policy-brief/iucns-messages-10-ocean-action-panels-unoc3 http://one-ocean-science-2025.org/oos2025-recommendations-en.pdf http://for-the-ocean.org/news/ocean-protection-gap-report/ http://www.fauna-flora.org/news/a-global-movement-to-protection-our-ocean/ http://seas-at-risk.org/press-releases/protect-the-ocean-protect-life-ocean-advocates-make-global-call-for-action-before-un-ocean-conference/    http://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2025/06/why-deep-seabed-mining-needs-a-moratorium http://e360.yale.edu/features/jeff-watters-interview http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?14136941/WWF-UN-Ocean-Conference-must-chart-a-course-to-deliver-on-2030-goals http://for-the-ocean.org/news/destructive-fishing-in-protected-areas-and-bottom-trawlings-economic-toll/ http://for-the-ocean.org/resources http://www.fauna-flora.org/explained/bottom-trawling-impact/ http://www.oceancare.org/en/stories_and_news/report-trawling/ http://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062025/un-deep-sea-mining-bottom-trawling-moratorium/ http://stateoftheocean.org/seamountsproclamation/    http://www.oceancare.org/en/stories_and_news/over-200-ngos-call-for-urgent-action-on-offshore-fossil-fuel-exploration-ahead-of-un-conference-in-nice/ http://www.ciel.org/news/ciel-experts-at-unoc3/ http://www.ciel.org/unoc3-time-for-a-fossil-free-ocean/ http://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2025/04/01/offshore-oil-gas-policies-threaten-ocean/ http://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/what-s-the-relationship-between-climate-change-and-the-ocean/    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/09/sea-acidity-ecosystems-ocean-acidification-planetary-health-scientists http://insideclimatenews.org/news/09062025/ocean-acidification-crosses-planetary-boundaries/ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/ http://sdgs.un.org/publications/launch-second-world-ocean-assessment-woa-ii-volume-i-32884 http://stateoftheocean.org/theforgottenocean/#more-1680 http://stateoftheocean.org/new-report/ http://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-5/ http://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/ http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01665-0 http://council.science/news/science-based-priorities-for-the-ocean-we-need/    http://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/when-our-oceans-cant-breathe-a-sea-change-is-needed-commentary/ http://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2025/04/23/addressing-triple-planetary-crisis-ocean-2025/ http://riseupfortheocean.org/finance-for-ocean-resilience-bridging-the-gap-for-coastal-communities/ http://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-025-00024-3/index.html http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01726-4 http://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-marine-life-provides-climate-benefits-worth-billions-of-dollars/ http://seas-at-risk.org/blue-manifesto/ http://riseupfortheocean.org/cop29-ocean-climate-action-at-a-crossroads/ http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/answering-10-pressing-questions-about-plastic-pollution    Mar. 2025    Ocean issues are human rights issues, says UN expert    Ocean degradation threatens communities and affects human rights worldwide, including the right to a healthy environment, a UN independent expert said today.    “The protection of marine ecosystems is part of States’ obligations to protect human rights,” said Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.    In her report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur stressed that the degradation of the ocean threatens humanity and exacerbates inequalities and disproportionately affects marginalised populations.    “Knowing the interdependence and interconnectedness of humans and ecosystems with the ocean is essential to understanding the current impacts on this delicate balance, even for those living inland,” Puentes Riano said. She noted that these linkages include food systems, healthy ecosystems, a safe climate and the work of ocean defenders.    “The ocean is the largest biome on Earth, covering 70 per cent of its surface. One third of the human population (2.4 billion people) live within 100 km of an ocean coast,” she said.    “Despite over 600 agreements, marine ecosystems face pressing threats including climate change, overfishing, extractivism, pollution, and deep-sea mining,” the expert said. Weak governance and enforcement gaps; disproportionate impacts on Indigenous Peoples, small-scale fishers, and coastal communities; escalating violence against ocean defenders, and insufficient accountability exacerbate these issues.    Puentes Riano called for a holistic, comprehensive, integrated and gender-responsive human rights and ecosystem-based approach to ocean governance. She said the inclusion of ancestral knowledge, the rights of present and future generations, and a long-term vision were crucial to solving the current triple planetary crises and addressing ocean challenges.    “We must mainstream the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment into ocean policies, strengthen international cooperation, and ensure that those most affected lead conservation efforts,” the Special Rapporteur said.    In her report, the expert outlined key recommendations for States, businesses and international organisations, including: strengthening legal protections for marine biodiversity and coastal communities; implementing stricter regulations on overfishing, pollution and offshore extractive industries; enforcing the precautionary principle, all while recognising the role of ocean defenders and indigenous knowledge in marine governance. The report also recommends for States to support developing countries in marine conservation.    “Without immediate action, we risk losing marine biodiversity, which in turn will impact the lives and human rights of millions of people who depend on the ocean,” Puentes Riano said. “We need a clear understanding that ocean issues are human rights issues, and we need to apply this to all ocean-related efforts.”    http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/ocean-issues-are-human-rights-issues-says-un-expert http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5543-business-planetary-boundaries-and-right-clean-healthy-and http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-environment
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