If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits

The author warns that the deterioration of the ocean's health threatens the food supply of over one billion people and global climate regulation. To avert disaster, the text calls for the implementation of international agreements against illegal fishing, deep cuts in carbon emissions, the protection of 'blue carbon' ecosystems, a transition to a circular economy to reduce plastic waste, and the expansion of marine protected areas to 10% by 2020.

• Overfishing and climate change are endangering the food security of more than one billion people and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions, with small-scale fisheries providing 90% of fishing jobs in developing nations.
• The ocean plays a critical role in climate regulation by absorbing approximately 25% of carbon emissions and over 93% of excess heat, though its capacity to continue this is threatened by fossil fuel use.
• Plastic pollution is a severe global issue, with eight million tons of plastic entering the ocean annually, necessitating a shift toward a circular economy and the elimination of single-use plastics and microbeads.
• To build resilience and allow species to replenish, the world must meet the Sustainable Development Goal 14 target of protecting 10% of the ocean by 2020, whereas the current level of protection is approximately 7%.
• Combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing requires the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement, the use of surveillance technology, and the removal of harmful fisheries subsidies via the WTO.

APA

Lövin, I. (2018). If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/if-we-dont-protect-ocean-humanitarian-disaster-world-oceans-day/

Chicago

Lövin, Isabella. If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/if-we-dont-protect-ocean-humanitarian-disaster-world-oceans-day/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lövin |first1=Isabella |title=If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=8 June 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/if-we-dont-protect-ocean-humanitarian-disaster-world-oceans-day/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lvin2018dont, author = {Lövin, Isabella}, title = {{If we don’t protect the ocean, humanitarian disaster awaits}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/if-we-dont-protect-ocean-humanitarian-disaster-world-oceans-day/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }