Today, 102 environmental organisations are launching the “Blue Manifesto” – a rescue plan that lays out concrete actions to turn the tide on Earth’s ever-degraded and polluted oceans and coastlines.
To be successful, change is needed on both land and sea. The NGOs call for:
- At least 30% of the ocean to be highly or fully protected by 2030
- Shift to low-impact fishing
- Securing a pollution-free ocean
- Planning of human activities that support the restoration of thriving marine ecosystems
The situation in marine ecosystems around the world is dire, as stressed by recent reports released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and by the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services . Urgent action is needed and Europe can play a leading role in facing this challenge. Heeding the recommendations presented in the Blue Manifesto will put Europe on the right track to protect and restore the ocean, which is under increasing threat and on which life on Earth depends. With the European Green Deal, the European Commission has committed to implement real climate and biodiversity strategies that will shift investment and legislation towards a climate-resilient and ecologically diverse future. NGOs now call on the European Commission to ensure the ocean is an integral part of these strategies by following the guidelines proposed in the Blue Manifesto.