Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development:
The oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the surface of our planet and play a key role in supporting life on earth. They are the most diverse and important ecosystem, contributing to global and regional elemental cycling, and regulating the climate. The ocean provides natural resources including food, materials, substances, and energy.
Marine Protected Areas contribute to poverty reduction by increasing fish catches and income, creating new jobs, improving health, and empowering women.
Increasing levels of debris in the world’s seas and oceans is having a major and growing economic impact.
Data and Statistics / Facts and Figures:
- Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume
- Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods
- Globally, the market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at $3 trillion per year or about 5 per cent of global GDP
- Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming
- Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein
- Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people
Targets linked to the environment:
- Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
