Our oceans are in grave danger. By 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in the sea.
Over 8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans every year. This pollution threatens marine habitats and biodiversity, and ultimately our health, life, and security.
We all depend on oceans in some form. They cover more than 70 percent of our blue planet’s surface and 97 percent of the earth's water comes from the oceans. They provide a habitat for marine life, food and water, absorb pollution and clean the air we’re breathing.
Crucially, oceans also provide a source of income and livelihoods for billions of people around the world. So, saving our oceans is one of the most pressing issues of our times. And their preservation is one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which means that the United Nations’ (UN) member states worldwide are working to find solutions to this issue.
Every year, the 8th of June marks World Oceans Day, a day to honor the world’s oceans and an opportunity for policy makers, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs to draw attention to this critical life source and to discuss its protection and conservation.
Under the theme "Our Oceans, Our Future", this year it focuses on solutions to plastic pollution and preventing marine litter. It coincides with the UN Ocean Conference, as well as a number of events and a festival hosted by the UN during this week. Furthermore, hundreds of events are taking place around the world.
For you and me, World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to reflect on our own behavior, and on how we can take action - individually and in our communities - to conserve the ocean and its resources.
And taking action is key.
Finding solutions has brought together an international community for the UN Ocean Conference at which a wide range of stakeholders – member states, policymakers, the private sector, think tanks and academics – aim to find a consensus on how we can slow down and stop the damage happening to the world's oceans.
But the people that are believed will have the biggest impact are Millennials.
And that’s for a variety of reasons. Millennials are the biggest generation our world has ever seen. They are hyper-connected via the Internet and social media, tech savvy and socially conscious. They also have the biggest stake in the future of our planet. As such, this younger generation has the power, the passion, and the voice to make change happen.
However, in a world of multi-media, inter-connectivity and 24/7 online activity with an overwhelming amount of information and distractions, how can the UN - or any organization - cut through the noise and solicit engagement from Millennials?
In an innovative approach to reach the younger generation, the UN, via their agency UNOPS (UN Office for Project Services) has teamed up with the global collective We Are the Oceans (WATO) and is using a combination of gaming and music.
“I’m very enthusiastic about the partnership,” says Grete Faremo, Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director. “The generation that has the most to lose is the young generation. And as we were looking to engage and build awareness, it was obvious to us that we had to communicate in a new language. Now we are using the tools that this generation is using. We have not done this before.”
As the operational arm of the UN, UNOPS implements more than 1000 projects a year in some of the most vulnerable and fragile states in the world. 80% of the ocean pollution stems from land-based activities and through its projects UNOPS helps these countries prevent pollution and cope with the consequences of polluted oceans and depleted marine life.
With the support of UNOPS, WATO is engaging Millennials through The Big Catch, a game in which players clean up the sea with the help of a rare and endangered Vaquita porpoise to contribute to the global target of 1 million lbs of trash that needs to be collected.
Since its launch in April 2017, 3.2 million people have played The Big Catch, demonstrating that UNOPS’ approach is clearly working.
In addition to The Big Catch, WATO invites users to pledge to reduce their usage of plastic and educates them how to do that through small behavioral changes, such as saying ‘No’ to plastic bags when grocery shopping, or using refillable water bottles.
“Why do we take the straw when we get a drink?” Ms. Faremo adds “Let’s not use it!”
There is no arguing that saving our oceans from drowning in plastic waste is an issue that we need to solve during this generation. And the best way to succeed is avoiding the trash instead of collecting it afterward.
Let’s make this year’s World Oceans Day the starting point for tangible action for every one of us, and bring about the change we need to create a better reality for future generations.