79% of respondents want more action to protect the oceans

A a large majority (eight out of 10, or 79%) of participants in a sustainability survey either faster government actions to protect the oceans, indicates an analysis involving 20 countries today released.

With regard to the United Nations (UN) Summit on Biodiversity, which begins next Monday in Yerevan, Armenia, the survey showed concern for ocean health, at a time when more than 130 non-governmental organisations, representing indigenous peoples, scientists and youth movements, also called for faster action.

Organizations, representing tens of millions of people, warn that the world is not on the right track to achieve the global goal of protecting and conserving at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30×30) and call on governments to speed up implementation.

The United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Indonesia participated in this analysis.

The call, according to a statement released today, follows the recent conclusions of the Global Report of the Convention on Biological Diversity to assess the protection progress of 30% of the oceans by 2030.

In the document, it is said that about 10% of the ocean is currently designated as protected or preserved, while existing national commitments would increase this value to only 12% by 2030. Currently, only 3.5% of the ocean is evaluated as effectively protected.

Civil society signatories warn that “implementation remains insufficient and unequal” and that “without a radical change in scale and pace of action, commitment 30×30 will not be fulfilled in the ocean.”.

They call on governments to accelerate the protection of the oceans, strengthen the management and supervision of existing protected areas, respect the rights and leadership of indigenous peoples and local communities, and mobilise the funding needed to achieve lasting results in conservation.

Echoing the public protection requirement that works in practice, signatories state: “A protected or preserved area must have real protection – protection that provides the desired results for nature and for people whose lives and livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean.”.

The results of the survey, in which Portugal did not participate, show strong public expectations that governments will reduce this gap. If 79% says that governments need to act faster to protect the ocean, an even larger majority, 95%, says that it is important that designated areas for ocean conservation are managed effectively rather than just protected on paper.

Almost 60% of respondents said that trust in governments would be undermined if designated areas could not provide significant protection.

COP17 will make the first comprehensive review of progress in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Structure, adopted by countries in 2022.

In that year, countries agreed to target 30×30 to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world's land and oceans by 2030.

The 17th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, COP17, takes place in Erevan, Armenia, from 19 to 30 October, under the motto “Take action for nature”.