One Ocean Summit 2022 which was organised by France was held from 9-11 February, 2022 in Brest, Brittany, France, in cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank.
The “One Ocean Summit” was held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the United Nations.
- Objective: To mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting healthy and sustainable ocean ecosystems.
- Goal of the summit: To raise the collective level of ambition of the international community on marine issues and to translate our shared responsibility to the ocean into tangible commitments.
PM Modi Addressed the Summit:
i.Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has virtually addressed the high-level segment of One Ocean Summit on 11th February, 2022.
ii.The Summit was also addressed by several Heads of States and Governments including Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Canada, among others.
80% of the Seabed to be mapped by 2030:
i.On the occasion of the One Ocean Summit, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) pledges to have at least 80 percent of the seabed mapped by 2030 (compared to current 20 percent) for understanding the location of ocean faults, the workings of ocean currents and tides, and the transport of sediments.
ii.The UN agency called for mobilisation of the 150 member states of its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the private sector to carry out the exercise.
iii.In 2017, UNESCO joined forces with the Nippon Foundation, Japan’s largest private foundation, to launch the Seabed 2030 programme.
Note – As per UNESCO’s IOC, the total funding requirement for the project stands at $5 billion, i.e., an average of $625 million per year by 2030.
iv.Action plan to achieve the goal:
Action plans were formed to have at least 80 percent of the seabed mapped by 2030.
- The mobilization of a fleet of 50 vessels specially dedicated to seabed mapping.
- Intensifying the use of sonar on autonomous vessels.
- The transmission by governments and corporations of cartographic data which they have archived earlier.
Ocean Education in School curricula:
i.UNESCO announced it has set itself the goal of including ocean education in the school curricula of its 193 Member States by 2025.
ii.UNESCO unveiled a common repository of educational content for policymakers and curriculum developers to achieve the goal of ocean education.
iii.The good practices of Member States who are already working on ocean education, such as Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Kenya, Portugal and Sweden, were highlighted by UNESCO.
Note – COP27 will be held in November 2022 in Egypt.
Additional Info:
i.UNESCO is the UN agency in charge of the ocean. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), founded in 1960 and joined by 150 countries, coordinates global programmes such as ocean mapping, ocean health monitoring and tsunami risk prevention, and numerous scientific research projects.
ii.UNESCO is leading the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030).
Recent Related News:
The Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of ICH of Humanity during its 16th session of IGC which was held in Paris, France from 13 to 18 December 2021
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO):
Headquarters – Paris, France
Director-General – Audrey Azoulay
