Waste clearing in Durban port, South Africa on April 28, 2019. Illustrative image (Source: AFP/VNA) New York (VNA) - UN Secretary-General AntonioGuterres has stressed the significance of commitment to sustainable developmentof seas and oceans at the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In his opening remarks to the meeting by the state partiesto UNCLOS on June 17, Guterres cited a number of challenges that the world'soceans are facing, including the loss of half of the living coral in the past150 years, the 10-fold increase of plastic pollution in the sea in the lastfour decades and the over-exploitation of one-third of the world's fish stocks.
He also pointed to the problems of ocean acidification andsea level rise.
The consequences of these pressures are already being feltby low-lying coastal states, small island developing states and coastalcommunities, he said, adding that declining ocean health ultimately affects all.
In battling these pressures, Guterres said the sustainabledevelopment goals of the 2030 Agenda are the guide and UNCLOS is the legalframework.
In this regard, he said that the 2030 Agenda commits theinternational community to the implementation of the legal regime under UNCLOS,as it specifically calls for enhancement of the conservation and sustainableuse of oceans and their resources by implementing international law asreflected in the convention.
The UN Secretary-General said through implementing theprovisions of UNCLOS, many challenges facing the oceans can be addressed, thuscalling on the countries that have not yet ratified or acceded to theconvention to do so.-VNA
