Africa has an enormous ocean area at its disposal. There are almost 20 million square kilometres of ocean, seas and inland water that could be developed into environmentally sustainable blue economies. The G20 group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union also view the blue economy as key to developing the…
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin, which formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, is expected to strengthen later in the week and could become the Atlantic’s first hurricane of the season. The storm formed just west of the Cabo Verde islands, off the western coast of Africa, and was moving toward the west, the U.S….
Adie Bush | Connect Images | Getty Images Shares of Hanwha Ocean surged as much as 16.06% on Thursday to their highest levels since July 2015, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blanket 15% tariff on Seoul’s exports to the U.S. According to Reuters, Kim Dong-kwan, the vice chairman of the Hanwha Group,…
“We are rushing to prepare regulations atop a foundation of scientific uncertainty, in direct contradiction of our obligation under Article 145 of UNCLOS to protect the marine environment. This is not urgency born of science, but acceleration shaped by external pressure. We must be guided by principle, and not by artificial deadlines.” President Surangel Whipps…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a global health alert over a fast-moving outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease, that is sweeping across the Indian Ocean islands and making inroads into mainland Africa and South East Asia. Speaking at a media briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, Dr Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO’s lead on…
At the High Level Event on “A Sustainable Ocean Economy,” co-organised by APRM & the OECD at the AU Permanent Observer Mission offices in New York this afternoon, AUC Deputy Chairperson H.E Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi reaffirmed the AU’s commitment to ocean health as a cornerstone of Agenda 2063 & SDGs. She underscored the urgent…
Countries have come to rely on a network of cables and pipes under the sea for their energy and communications. So, it has been worrying to read headlines about communications cables being cut and, in one case, an undersea gas pipeline being blown up. Critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) as these connections are known, supports about…
Bogota, Colombia — The services the ocean provides are the backbone of our collective health, wealth and food security, yet today just 2.7% of the ocean has been assessed and deemed to be effectively protected. In failing to establish adequate safeguards, not only are we condemning communities and ecosystems across the world to decline and…
With one day remaining before the conclusion of the Third UN Ocean Conference, delegates in Nice are preparing for the adoption of the summit’s eagerly anticipated political declaration. Small island developing States, facing the direct effects of climate change and marine resource decline, are pushing to ensure their perspectives are reflected in global ocean policy….
Nice, France — As the curtains draw on the UN Ocean Conference, a flurry of voluntary commitments and political declarations has injected fresh impetus into global efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. With the world’s oceans facing unprecedented threats, high-level biodiversity officials and negotiators are sounding the alarm and calling for renewed momentum–and funding–to deliver on…
