One Ocean Summit 2022 Held in France; Sets Goal to Map 80% Seabed by 2030
One Ocean Summit 2022 which was organised by France was held on 9-11 February, 2022 in Brest, France in cooperation with the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank.
Objective
To mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting healthy and sustainable ocean ecosystems.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually add ressed the high-level segment of One Ocean Summit on February 11, 2022.
The Summit was also addressed by several Heads of States and Governments including Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Canada, among others.
80% of the Seabed to be Mapped by 2030
- On the occasion of the One Ocean Summit, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) pledged to have at least 80 per cent of the seabed mapped by 2030 (compared to current 20 per cent) for understanding the location of ocean faults, the workings of ocean currents and tides and the transport of sediments.
- The UN agency called for mobilisation of the 150 member states of its Intergovernmental Oceano graphic Commission (IOC) and the private sector to carry out the exercise.
- In 2017, UNESCO joined forces with the Nippon Foundation, Japan’s largest private foundation, to launch the Seabed 2030 programme.
Note: As per UNESCO’s IOC, the total funding requirement for the project stands at $ 5 billion, i.e., an average of $ 625 million per year by 2030. - Action Plan to Achieve the Goal-Action plans were formed to have atleast 80 per cent of the seabed mapped by 2030.
The mobilization of a fleet of 50 vessels specially dedicated to seabed mapping.
Intensifying the use of sonar on autonomous vessels. The transmission by governments and corporations of cartographic data which they have archived earlier.
Ocean Education in School Curricula - UNESCO announced it has set itself the goal of including ocean education in the school curricula of its 193 Member States by 2025.
- UNESCO unveiled a common repository of educa tional content for policymakers and curriculum developers to achieve the goal of ocean education.
- The good practices of Member States who are already working on ocean education, such as Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Kenya, Portugal and Sweden were highlighted by UNESCO.
Additional Information - UNESCO is the UN agency incharge of the ocean. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Com mission (IOC) founded in 1960 and joined by 150 countries, coordinates global programmees such as oceean mapping, ocean health monitoring and tsunami risk prevention and numerous scientific research projects.
- UNESCO is leading the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences of Sustainable Development (2021 to 2030).
