Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri Highlights Importance of Ocean-based Climate Solutions at UN Ocean Conference in Portugal
Lisbon-Portugal: 29 June, 2022 – Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, participated in the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), co-hosted by the governments of Portugal and Kenya in the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
Running from June 27 to July 1, UNOC seeks to drive the development of much-needed science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action to support the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water. The conference is running under the theme ‘Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: Stocktaking, partnerships and solutions’.
During the interactive dialogue titled ‘Addressing Marine Pollution’, Her Excellency explored ways to tackle marine pollution from land- and sea-based sources that has a serious negative impact on the world’s oceans.
In her opening remarks at the meeting, Her Excellency highlighted the importance of leveraging nature-based solutions, especially blue carbon ecosystems, to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The UAE has achieved the two targets of SDG 14 which had a deadline in 2020. Having designated 16 marines protected areas that account for 12.01 percent of its marine and coastal territory, the country reached Target 14.5 which entails conserving at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas. In addition, the nation maintains global leadership in the Marine Protected Areas category of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
Through integrated management of its marine protected areas, whose effectiveness is being regularly evaluated, the UAE has also achieved Target 14.2 which requires countries to implement measures to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems and take action for their restoration.
The world’s oceans face a wide variety of threats – such as acidification, marine litter and pollution, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the loss of habitats and biodiversity – that require targeted efforts to address. UNOC’s sessions put each of these threats in the spotlight to spur a productive exchange of ideas aimed at preserving healthy oceans for future generations.