111/On February 5th, 2008, the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the decision that from 2009, June 8th every year will be World Ocean Day. As early as 1992, Canada put forward this proposal at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro that year.
2009 is the first time that the United Nations officially designated World Ocean Day. The United Nations hopes that all countries in the world can take this opportunity to pay attention to the ocean on which human beings depend, appreciate the rich value contained in the ocean itself, and examine the adverse effects of global pollution and excessive consumption of fish resources on the marine environment and marine life. The theme of World Ocean Day in 2009 is "Our Ocean, Our Responsibility".
Purpose of World Ocean Day
The Secretary-General of the United Nations called on all countries in the world to further understand the ocean's ability to regulate the global climate, take practical measures to protect the marine environment, maintain a healthy marine ecosystem and ensure the safety of international shipping. Human activities are making the world's oceans pay a terrible price, such as over-exploitation, illegal, unauthorized and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing methods, alien invasive species and marine pollution, especially from land.
Ocean acidification caused by rising ocean temperature, rising sea level and climate change further threatens marine life, coastal and island communities and national economy. With the support of the United Nations, the international community has adopted a series of international legal documents to protect the marine environment, among which the core document is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adopted in 1982, which provides a legal framework for all marine activities of mankind and a basis for all countries to carry out various international cooperation.