Preparations are underway in New York ahead of June’s UN Oceans Conference, which is focused on achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: ‘Life Below Water’. An estimated 40% of the world’s oceans are being badly affected by unsustainable practices. Goal 14 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. IMO supports this objective by setting global standards designed to ensure shipping does not adversely impact the environment, as well as providing technical assistance needed by countries to implement those standards.
During a high-level meeting of UN experts and government officials, hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (15-16 February), key IMO projects working globally to protect the marine environment were highlighted by IMO’s Fred Haag. These include the Globallast project on reducing the transfer of potentially harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships’ ballast water, and the GloMEEP project – which supports energy efficiency measures for shipping.
At a further side-event, Mr. Haag outlined IMO’s work in relation to noise and ship strikes, as well as Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs), which involves protecting marine environments in 16 designated areas through specific measures to control maritime activities, such as ship routeing, in those areas.