UNESCO calls for prioritizing investments in ocean science

Paris, Dec 22 (Prensa Latina) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called on the international community to invest massively in ocean science as an engine for sustainable development.

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Por: PRENSA LATINA

22 December , 2020 | 13:47

According to Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director General, as the world adjusts to a new normality with the emergence of Covid-19, these sciences can play an important role in recovery efforts after the pandemic.

UNESCO warned that despite the promise of oceanography, states spend on average only 1.7 percent of their research budgets in this area, much less than in others considered of scientific relevance.

The low percentage is difficult to justify, when in 2010 the contribution of the sea to the world economy was estimated at 1.5 trillion dollars, a figure that is far from marginal and was probably underestimated, the official said.

For the organization, countries should not forget that a better knowledge of the ocean, which covers 71 percent of the planet, could contribute even more to development.

To date, only about a fifth of the seafloor is high-resolution mapped. There are vast abyssal areas, as well as in regions of the Arctic where we know next to nothing about the distribution of species, ecosystems or ocean processes, she stated.

At the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development the United Nations General Assembly approved seven goals, including cleanup and reduction of sources of pollution, resilience, productivity and protection.

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