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Convened under the auspices of the United Nations and co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, the ¡°2022 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development¡± (or the 2022 UN Ocean Conference) will be held from 27 June ¨C 1st July 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. The overarching theme of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference is ¡°Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions¡±. The Conference was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, however, it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Online Stakeholder Briefing ¨C UPDATES AND PREPARATIONS 

On 3 May 2022, at 9:00 a.m. (EDT), the UN DESA Division for Sustainable Development Goals, as the Secretariat of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, will organize an online briefing to share information with stakeholders about the Conference, including opportunities to participate and expected outcomes. 

The online briefing is open to all stakeholders.

Interested stakeholders should register online by 2 May 2022 using this form:

COVID-19 recovery: Youth taking action for a sustainable future

Thematic Breakout Session: Youth Action for SDG 14 - 19 April 2022, 1:30-3:00 p.m. (EDT), Virtual

2022 is a critical year for the Ocean.

Convened by the United Nations General Assembly and co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, the ¡°United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development¡± will be held from 27 June to 1 July in Lisbon, Portugal, under the overarching theme: ¡°Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions¡±. 

SDG 14 will also be under in-depth review at the 2022 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) to be convened under the auspices of the ECOSOC from 5 to 15 July 2022.

In addition, several other key UN intergovernmental processes unfolding this year will have a direct impact on the Ocean and its well-being, including the resumed session of the fifth UN Environment Assembly that took place from 28February to 2 March that decided to forge a legally binding agreement; the Special Session of the UN Environment Assembly UNEP@50 held from 3 to 4 March where the commitment to environment cooperation was affirmed; the Stockholm+50 international meeting to be held from 2 to 3 June; the COP27 of UNFCCC from 7 to 18 November, and part 2 of the COP15 of the Convention on Biodiversity planned to take place in the third quarter this year.

UN DESA, the Oceans Youth Constituency of the Major Group of Children and Youth, UNEP and UN Global Compact are organizing a special session on Youth Action for SDG 14, given the critical role that young people have in the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. This session will provide a unique platform for youth to showcase ideas, recommendations, innovations, youth-led solutions and actions, to ¡°Save our ocean, Protect our future¡±. It will also contribute to raising awareness among youth of the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference in late June and the review of SDG 14 at 2022 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the implementation of the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, as well as other related processes.

Session objectives

• To raise awareness amongst youth in taking action in support of SDG 14 and seek to highlight how youth can inform and/or participate in key UN intergovernmental processes in this regard, including the upcoming 2022 UN Ocean Conference; 
• To mobilize youth action to strengthen environmental multilateralism, science, and policy, while fostering partnerships with key stakeholders to conserve oceans, seas, and restore marine ecosystems;
• To share best practices and solutions for the successful implementation of SDG14, inspiring action to tackle the environmental crisis of climate, pollution, and nature that affects oceans, seas, and marine resources.

Expected outcomes

• A summary of discussion including key messages and recommendations will be prepared by the co-leads
• Key takeaways from the ECOSOC Youth Forum will inform the 2022 UN Ocean Conference and the 2022 HLPF and be widely disseminated through relevant youth networks

Join us for this year's UN ECOSOC Youth Forum! 

To receive connection links to the full two-day UN ECOSOC Youth Forum, please sign up here before 15 April 2022: . 

4th Oceans Forum on trade-related aspects of Sustainable Development Goal 14

Description

The ocean¡¯s resources sustain the livelihoods of about 3 billion people worldwide, the vast majority of whom live in developing countries. But those livelihoods are under threat, as the ocean and its ability to sustain life are in grave danger due to human activities, such as pollution and overfishing. Every year, an estimated 5 to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic flow into the ocean, which represents 95% of our planet¡¯s biosphere. And due to overfishing, the percentage of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels fell from 90% in 1990 to less than 66% in 2017. The 4th Oceans Forum, to be held from 6 to 8 April 2022, is a unique platform to identify ways to change course. It¡¯s an opportunity to find solutions for using trade as a tool to protect our ocean and its resources, accelerating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14¡¯s trade-related targets. For more information: .

Topics

The high-level opening of the Oceans Forum will tackle challenges and opportunities for the ocean economy to contribute to a sustainable and resilient post-COVID-19 recovery for all countries. The forum to address the following topics:

• Emerging sustainable ocean economy sectors, such as seaweed production
• Transparency and fish subsidies support mechanisms
• Ocean economy markets and non-tariff measures reform
• Social sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture value chains
• Sustainable and resilient maritime supply chains
• Trade-related aspects of marine litter and plastic pollution

Resources

Registration: 

Programme:    

Documentation: 

Orgnisers

UNCTAD, FAO, UNEP, Commonwealth Secretariat, OACPS, CAF and IOI with the support of the Missions of Kenya and Portugal