Kenya has committed to implement SDG 14, which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Kenya made the commitment at the close of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday.
The second United Nations Ocean Conference was co-chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Portugal counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
It closed with a collective declaration to support the implementation of SDG 14 and a call for more investment in coastal ecosystem to enhance ocean resilience and biodiversity.
In a statement read by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko, President Kenyatta pledged the country’s commitment to implement the realization of SDG 14, saying there is need for a collective responsibility for it’s actualisation.
“The world has spoken, Intergovernmental organisations, scientists, industry captains, civil society, philanthropists, youth and women. We are all in agreement that we cannot have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean. The message is clear, we have to move from talk to action,” Keriako said in the president’s message.
Exuding confidence that leaders had expressed tremendous political willingness to have the outcomes of the Conference prioritised, the CS urged world leaders to ensure implementation is done in order to protect and conserve the ocean
“With more than 3.5 billion people depending on the ocean for food security, while 120 million work directly in fisheries and aquaculture-related activities, the leaders called for urgent action to save the ocean”, Tobiko said.
He further noted that the draft resolution will give a clear guidance on sustainable circular blue economy and conservation of oceans.
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