In view of the contributions and efforts made by Saudi Arabia to preserve the marine environment at the national, regional, and global levels, a five-year development agreement was signed between Saudi Arabia and the United Nations to preserve the planet.
The signing of the agreement took place during the Riyadh Blue Talk, an event organized by the UNRC office and the embassies of Portugal and Kenya to raise awareness of oceans ahead of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference to be held in Lisbon next month.
Government institutions, academics, the private sector, and regional and international organizations are part taking in the event.
Riyadh Blue Talk panel discussions tackled managing, protecting, preserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems, increasing scientific knowledge, developing research capabilities and transferring marine technology.
“(The) Ocean’s health is vital to us all. Just consider the fact that over 50 percent of the planet’s oxygen is produced in the ocean. That is why my daily mantra is, ‘No healthy planet without a healthy ocean.’ And the ocean’s health is measurably in decline,” said Peter Thomson, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for the ocean.
“We can stop the decline of the ocean’s health in 2022 and we made a great start with the consensual agreement at UNEA (UN Environment Assembly) in Nairobi in February to begin work on a binding global treaty to end plastic pollution,” he added.
“We must continue this positive momentum by ending harmful fisheries subsidies at the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Geneva, by adopting the 30 by 30 target at the Biodiversity COP in Kunming, and when we gather in Sharm El-Sheikh in November for COP27, by moving the climate finance needle decisively in the direction of the Sustainable Blue Economy,” said Thomson.
“2022’s highlight opportunity will be the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, in support of SDG14’s implementation. There, we will launch a great fleet of science-based solutions, heavily powered by innovation and partnerships,” he added.
