During this past weekend, environmental and diplomatic authorities from more than 30 countries met at the Heredia Convention Center for the event called “Immersed in Change”, focused on solutions for the protection of the oceans,
The inauguration of the meeting counted with the participation of hierarchs such as the UN Envoy for the Oceans, Peter Thomson; and the undersecretary of the Organization, Li Junhua, who highlighted the importance of the oceans and recognized Costa Rica’s actions.
The national authorities then gave their messages outlining the “Declaration of Peace with the Oceans”. This declaration was finalized by the end of the summit, “it means a change of paradigm or way of seeing the ocean,” said the Chancellor, Arnoldo André.
“Before, the offshore waters belonged to no one or rather only to those who had the technological capacity to navigate and exploit it. This idea that the sea belongs to no one has changed,” he added.The proposal addresses issues such as the sustainable use of resources, biodiversity, global agreements and new technologies.
In the sea as on land
President Rodrigo Chaves’ intervention mentioned issues such as the need to address the oceans to avoid an “intergenerational swindle.”“We are going to look towards the ocean on which the entire human species depends,” he noted.
He claimed that the country is an international model of conservation and that now it will seek to replicate in the seas the protection that has already been done in terrestrial parks. This would tend to further delineate the models so that international cooperation can help other countries to develop them.
Ahead of the Ocean Summit in France
The Immersed on Change is part of the preparation route for the Oceans Summit, convened for 2025 in Nice, France.Meetings such as the one in Costa Rica are focused on reaching agreements for the final decision to be signed at that time.
According to the President, it is expected that these public commitments will be maintained as part of the commitments and the example set by a country like Costa Rica. “There are no guarantees, but that is why we have to work very hard,” he said.
