As today marks the World Oceans Day, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) has re-emphasised the need to protect and restore the world’s ocean that connects all by taking action locally and on a global scale, inspiring change in management and utilisation.
This year’s World Oceans Day’s celebration is on the theme “Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing”.
“To appreciate this year’s theme, there is a need for collaboration between Governments, organisations and individuals to put the ocean first and develop sustainable ocean management plans for effective ocean governance and protection.
“For us in Ghana, in observing the day, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with other key stakeholders, will like to reemphasize the need to protect and restore the world’s ocean that connects us all by taking action locally and on a global scale inspiring change in our management and utilization of the world’s oceans,” a MESTI press release stressed.
The call is in line with remarks made by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the recently concluded National Blue Economy Summit, where he reaffirmed the necessity of strengthening strategic alliances among stakeholders or forging a forward-thinking coalition for improved ocean health and the quickening of community and national development.
The president also indicated that deliberate efforts should be taken to ensure greater and smarter investments into ocean action as Ghana’s ocean-scape is mainly financed through public, philanthropic and donor resources.
It added that the “Ocean tides are changing; hence, the need to generate a new wave of excitement towards cherishing and protecting our ocean and blue planet.
“As individuals, institutions, communities, MMDAs, MDAs and a nation, we are therefore called upon to unite in effectively managing, protecting and sustaining our ocean to achieve a bluer and better lifestyle. Therefore, let us use this day as a catalyst for social change; to underscore humanity’s connectivity to the ocean, illustrate its cross-sector potential, and chart a path to a cleaner, healthier and sustainable ocean for both ourselves and posterity.”
2023 WOD
The United Nations General Assembly, by its resolution 63/111 of 5th December, 2008, designated the 8th June of every year as World Oceans Day. The celebration reflects the importance of the ocean for all life forms on earth and has been selected to promote public awareness and actions for sustainable ocean management.
The objective of the celebration is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean’s protection, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans.
