By Sonja Swenson Rogers, Polynesian Voyaging Society
Renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle of Mission Blue and Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson joined global leaders for SOS Ocean, a high-level gathering held March 30-31 at the Musée National de la Marine in Paris, France.
Under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron and in collaboration with the Portugal-based Oceano Azul Foundation, the event convened policymakers, scientists, and advocates to confront urgent ocean challenges as France and Costa Rica prepare to host the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in Nice, June 9-13.
The SOS Ocean convening aimed to shape the Nice Ocean Action Plan, a five-year agenda which will be negotiated during UNOC-3 and is designed to prioritize ocean protection and restoration and support implementation of sustainable development goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water, a new treaty for the high seas, and the protection of marine wildlife.
Presentations at the convening highlighted the accelerating consequences of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse – underscoring the need for immediate, science-backed solutions.
Two major ocean priorities were repeatedly stressed during the event: 1) The need to rapidly bring the high seas treaty into force so that urgently needed protections can be afforded to ecosystems and biodiversity in areas beyond countries’ national waters; and 2) The need to protect the deep sea from the growing threat of deep-sea mining.
At the culmination of the two-day event, Thompson and Earle jointly presented the SOS Ocean Manifesto to President Macron issuing a powerful call to action for world leaders to adopt bold, ambitious, and regenerative policies at UNOC-3. Thompson and Earle also brought a call for urgency, ambition, and an invitation to include the voices and people of the Pacific, whose engagement in these international ocean processes is essential and must be supported.
“We must protect the ocean as if our lives depend on it, because they do,” said Earle. “Highest priority must be to safeguard the High Seas from the needless, destructive folly of deep-sea mining and to halt industrial fishing, a principal source of pollution, human trafficking and massive decline of ocean wildlife.”
“The world’s oceans are 70% of the earth’s surface. When you protect the oceans, you are protecting all life on earth. They provide over half of the oxygen humans breathe, regulate our climate and stabilize global temperatures so that the earth can provide the food that we need. Human actions are disrupting this vital balance, changing the earth and now it’s changing us,” said Thompson.
Under President Macron’s leadership, France is a European leader in global efforts to protect the high seas and has been instrumental in advancing efforts to secure the 60 ratifications needed to bring the high seas treaty into force, enabling the establishment and management of marine protected areas on the high seas.
These two ocean priorities are particularly relevant for the Pacific Ocean, a region which stands at the frontlines of the climate and biodiversity crises.
This article was adapted from an article that originally appeared in the April 7 issue of “Hōkūleʻa Newsletter.” This article has been reprinted in “Ka Wai Ola” with permission from the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
