{"id":49813,"date":"2018-06-07T17:34:42","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T21:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=49813"},"modified":"2018-07-18T15:48:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T19:48:16","slug":"world-oceans-day-2018-to-focus-on-cleaning-up-plastic-in-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2018\/06\/world-oceans-day-2018-to-focus-on-cleaning-up-plastic-in-oceans\/","title":{"rendered":"World Oceans Day 2018 to focus on cleaning up plastic in oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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8 June, New York<\/strong> \u2013 To highlight growing concern for the health of the world\u2019s marine ecosystems, the ±¬ÁÏÍø will mark World Oceans Day on 8 June with a range of events that both celebrate the benefits that oceans provide, as well as amplify the need to take greater action to protect this global resource.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the importance of the world\u2019s oceans, seas and coastal areas to the world\u2019s seven billion people, the 193 ±¬ÁÏÍø Member States included the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources as a distinct goal\u2014Goal 14\u2014in the Sustainable Development Goals that anchor the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.<\/p>\n

According to ±¬ÁÏÍø Environment, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while up to 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once \u2014 and then thrown away. Today, about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste every year are produced, nearly equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. If current trends continue, the oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050<\/p>\n

Oceans cover more than two-thirds of the earth\u2019s surface and contain 97 percent of the planet\u2019s water. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by creating sustainable livelihoods and decent work. More than three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. In addition, oceans are crucial for global food security and are the primary regulator of the global climate.<\/p>\n

World Oceans Day 2018 carries the theme \u201cClean Our Ocean,\u201d and will be celebrated by the ±¬ÁÏÍø in New York and at 40 events around the world (see https:\/\/www.unworldoceansday.org\/events<\/a> for listings).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Events in New York to mark World Oceans Day 2018 on 8 June:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Launch of the Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business\u00a0 <\/strong>
\n8:30-10:00 a.m., Delegates Dining Room, United Nations Headquarters, New York<\/strong>
\nThe ±¬ÁÏÍø Global Compact will launch the newly formed Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business and the meeting will focus on the global scope and ambitions of the Action Platform and help define leadership in responsible business practices in the ocean.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Panel discussion, \u201cClean Our Ocean\u2014Innovation and Youth\u201d
\n3-6 p.m., Conference Room 4, ±¬ÁÏÍø Headquarters, New York<\/strong>
\nThe discussion will highlight the important roles of youth and innovation in addressing solutions towards cleaning the oceans, including speakers from projects that are involving youth in promoting marine biodiversity. The event will feature closing remarks from Cody Simpson, United Nations Development Programme Ocean Advocate, and Peter Thomson, the Secretary-General\u2019s Special Envoy for the Ocean.Empire State Building to be lit for Oceans Day <\/strong>
\nThe Empire State Building will once again be lit on the evening of 8 June for World Oceans Day in blue.<\/p>\n

2018 Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Photo Competition<\/strong>
\nDOALOS, together with the World Ocean Network, DivePhotoGuide,\u00a0 World Festival of Underwater Pictures and the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre, is hosting a free amateur photo competition in 2018, as in years past, seeking to convey the beauty and importance of the ocean and humankind\u2019s relation to it through five thematic categories: underwater seascapes, underwater life, above-water seascapes, positive human interaction and a youth category. Winners will be recognized at the ±¬ÁÏÍø reception on 8 June.<\/p>\n

East River shoreline clean-up<\/strong>
\n10 a.m.-12 p.m., East River Promenade at E. 6th<\/sup> Street<\/strong>
\nA group of ±¬ÁÏÍø staff members will be teaming up with the Lower East Side Ecology Center to clean up trash and plastic pollution along the portion of the East River at 6th Street in Manhattan. They will clear the coast to beat plastic pollution as the capstone of the Be the Change weeklong sustainability challenge encouraging staff to better live the SDGs. All are welcome. More information: \u00a0bit.ly\/±¬ÁÏÍøbethechange2018<\/a><\/p>\n

More information<\/strong>
\nWorld Oceans Day 2018: https:\/\/www.unworldoceansday.org\/<\/a>
\nPhoto contest: https:\/\/www.unworldoceansday.org\/spotlight-article\/fifth-annual-world-oceans-day-photo-competition<\/a><\/p>\n

Media contacts<\/strong>
\n±¬ÁÏÍø Department of Public Information
\nDan Shepard, T: +1 (212) 963-9495 | E: shepard@un.org<\/a>
\nAriel Alexovich, T: +1 (917) 367-6512 | E: alexovich@un.org<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals, please visit: www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment<\/a> or follow us on Twitter at @GlobalGoals±¬ÁÏÍø<\/a> and on Facebook at https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/globalgoals±¬ÁÏÍø<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8 June, New York \u2013 To highlight growing concern for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":49816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,4,5270],"tags":[5952,6652,351,5949],"class_list":["post-49813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-below-water","category-news","category-press-material","tag-goal-14","tag-ocean","tag-oceans","tag-world-oceans-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}