The overarching theme of the 2020 UN Ocean Conference this year is "Scaling up Ocean Action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions", calling for science-based innovative solutions to amplify global ocean action. The conference was supposed to take place in Lisbon, Portugal from the 2nd to 6th of June, and Blue Flag International had planned to attend. Unfortunately, it has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new dates will be announced at a later time. Despite the postponement, we would like to keep the momentum going and share Blue Flag’s contributions to the protection of the ocean and marine resources and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ocean covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, is the planet's largest biosphere, and is home to up to 80 percent of all life on Earth. It generates oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide emissions, is a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change, nurtures biodiversity and is essential to human well-being and livelihoods. This is why the ocean’s protection against unsustainable human activities is essential to limit the depletion of marine resources and pass on a more sustainable world to future generations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations in 2015 set 17 transformative goals to be reached by 2030. Goal number 14 “Life Below Water” stresses the need to conserve and sustainably use the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources. Blue Flag International is strongly committed to supporting the UN SDGs by promoting sustainability in the tourism sector, and contributes to their achievement through environmental education, environmental protection and other sustainable development practices.
Blue Flag’s influence is growing every year, with currently more than 4,500 Blue Flag awarded beaches, marinas and tourism boats in 47 countries around the world. Blue Flag also campaigns against disparity, inequality, unemployment, health threats, depletion of natural resources, environmental threats, pollution and general environmental degradation. One of the latest examples of Blue Flag’s contribution to the SDGs was the inauguration of the first Blue Flag Best Practice competition in 2020 on the theme of pollution. The competition was created to highlight the best examples of environmental protection practices implemented by Blue Flag sites around the world.
You can access all of the Best Practices implemented by Blue Flag sites here: https://www.blueflag.global/best-practices
To read more about how Blue Flag engages with and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals : https://www.blueflag.global/sdgs-blueflag
To get more information about the UN Ocean Conference: https://www.un.org/en/conferences/ocean2020