World Ocean Day

World ocean day is celebrated on June 8th every year. To remind the major role of ocean in our everyday life is the purpose of this day. Oceans are the lungs of our planet, which provides most of the oxygen we breathe. They are the main source of food, medicines and also a critical part of the biosphere. This day we celebrate the wealth, beauty and promise of ocean that assures.

History

According to the resolution 63/11 of December 2008, the UN General Assembly designated June 8 as World Ocean Day.

As a way to celebrate our global shared ocean, to make aware of the public about the crucial role played by the ocean in our lives and our personal connection to the sea and the important ways people can help protect it, the World Ocean Day concept was brought first on 1992 on the earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea is actively coordinating different events of the World Ocean Day to raise awareness about the role the United Nations and the International law can do for the supportable development of the ocean.

The World Ocean Network event is sponsored by the UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), since which have been in developing support for the ocean awareness events on 8 June.

Focus for 2019: Gender and Ocean

In this year we will try to build Better Ocean, gender literacy and will promote the gender equality in ocean related activities such as fisheries, labor at sea, marine scientific research, migration by sea and human trafficking, as well as policy-making and management.

On World Ocean Day UN is hosting a conference. Speakers and Storytellers across the world will be there to share their opinion about how we can make a better ocean and gender literacy and find possible ways to promote gender equality in ocean-related activities.

Beat Plastic Pollution

The President of General Assembly launched a global campaign against plastic pollution ‘Play It Out’ on this year. Overuse of plastic for decades has now lead to 13,000,000 tons of plastic leakage into ocean and 100,00 marine animals are killed annually.

The Ocean

From oxygen in the air we breathe, drinking water, climate, coastlines, much of our food, all are ultimately provided and maintained by the sea. Oceans and seas have the important role in trade and transportation throughout the history. Management and the careful use of the essential earthy resources is key to the sustainable development of the future.