The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – The World Oceans Summit in San Francisco, CA, concludes today, which brought together dozens of delegates from international organizations, academia, governments and other organizations to analyze the degradation of the oceans and management of its resources, among other issues.
The summit, organized by “The Economist” included the participation of U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, Portuguese President, Anibal Cavaco Silva and the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos.
The first session of the summit discussed the plans of the major world powers to control the economic exploitation of the oceans.
This session involved among others Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission and Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP.
“Today, more than 30% of fish stocks are overexploited, depleted or recovering. Pollution has created more than 500 dead zones covering 245,000 square kilometers. The human impact has destroyed more than 20% of mangroves, 30% of seagrass beds and 20% of coral reefs,” said Steiner.
But Steiner also said that there are indications of a “paradigm shift” as seen in the increase in protected marine areas.
The World Oceans Summit also addressed sustainability strategies for the oceans.
For his part, the former president of Costa Rica José Figueres presented on the recommendations for the Global Oceans Commission, which was created in 2013 to combat ocean degradation. (EFE)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica