World Oceans Day event will examine the potential of oceans and coasts

Join us on World Oceans Day (8 June) for an event to discuss the future of our oceans and coasts.

News, 21 May 2015
Madagascan fishermen set out for a day's fishing in traditional dugout canoes. Madagascar is implementing community-based management for some of its marine resources (Photo: Andreas Hafenscher, Creative Commons via Flickr)

Madagascan fishermen set out for a day's fishing in traditional dugout canoes. Madagascar is implementing community-based management for some of its marine resources (Photo: Andreas Hafenscher, Creative Commons via Flickr)

Researchers and campaigners will be looking at how to realise the potential of the world's oceans and coasts at an event at the Royal Geographical Society in London next month.

Marine and coastal ecosystems and the valuable goods and services they provide are being rapidly degraded as a result of pollution, overfishing, climate change, and habitat destruction. Many of the benefits and opportunities provided by oceans and coasts are being missed or lost.

Research shows that oceans and coasts are foundations of our well-being and economic prosperity: oceans produce half of the oxygen we breathe and absorb 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity. Marine and coastal ecosystems regulate water quality, attract tourism, protect cities and communities from storms and flooding, and support the livelihoods of millions of people globally.

Nearly 3 billion people obtain almost 20 per cent of their animal protein from fish. Increasingly we look to oceans and coasts for new sources of raw materials, medicines, biotechnology, and renewable energy.

Many of the benefits and opportunities provided by oceans and coasts are being missed or lost. Marine and coastal ecosystems and the valuable goods and services they provide are being rapidly degraded as a result of pollution, overfishing, climate change, and habitat destruction.

Join us to discuss how governments, communities and the private sector can respond to the challenges faced by the world's oceans, and how you can help. Places at the event, which is free of charge, are limited to 500 seats – to attend, please register online.

The event marks World Oceans Day on 8 June. It is being organised by University College London (UCL), WWF, the International Sustainability Unit (ISU) and IIED.

The event will start with short presentations by prominent campaigner and leading British environmentalist Tony Juniper, WWF's John Tanzer, and UCL's Ben Milligan. This will be followed by a high-level panel discussion with the chief executive of the Marine Stewardship Council, Rupert Howes; Malini Mehra, chief executive of Global Legislators Organisation; Angus Friday, Grenada's Ambassador to the United States; and IIED's senior researcher Essam Yassin Mohammed.

IIED will also release a report titled "What's the catch? Lessons from and prospects for Marine Stewardship Council certification in developing countries".

Planned speakers:

Contact

Essam Yassin Mohammed (eymohammed@iied.org), senior researcher in IIED's environmental economics team