Beach on the Cook Island of Aitutaki: Many island states are threatened by climate change
Photo:
Chad Ehlers/ picture alliance/ dpa
The United Nations has announced support for 100 coastal and island countries severely affected by pollution, overfishing and global warming.
The UN Development Program (UNDP) announced at the second UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon that these countries would be helped to offset the annual socio-economic losses totaling around USD 1 trillion caused by mismanagement of the oceans.
These losses are almost equivalent to Spain's gross domestic product.
The countries concerned, including all so-called small island developing states (SIDS), will be able to exploit the maximum potential of their blue economy by 2030 through sustainable, low-emission and climate-friendly measures in the area of the oceans, it said.
The blue economy includes all economic sectors that have something to do directly or indirectly with the sea or the coasts.
Investment program instead of concrete commitments
However, the United Nations did not make any specific financial commitments.
Instead, there should be an investment program called "Ocean Promise".
According to UNDP Under-Secretary-General Usha Rao-Monari, they initially want to promote “investments of at least one billion US dollars” (approx. 950 million euros) as part of new partnerships with companies and civil society.
Almost 30 heads of state and government, other politicians as well as scientists, activists and representatives of companies and non-governmental organizations will discuss in Portugal's capital until Friday how the resources of the world's oceans, which are increasingly threatened by litter, overfishing, climate change and acidification, can be better protected and used as sustainably as possible .
sol/dpa