Third World Ocean Assessment - World Oceans Day Press Conference

My name is Sharon Bush from the UN Department of Global Communications.
We are here for the launch of the Third World Ocean Assessment, which offers the latest insights into the health of our ocean.
And it is my pleasure to introduce our special guests today.
We have to my immediate left, Mr.
Stephen Hill, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, miss Bahia Tasb, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York, and co chair of the ad hoc working group of the whole and the regular process.
Then we have Mr.
Fabian Custo Aquinaut, Oceanographic Explorer, environmental advocate and founder of the Fabian Custo Ocean Learning Center, and Mr.
Rafael Gonzalez Quiros, Director of the Oceanographic Center of jon, and joint coordinator of the group of experts for the third cycle of the UN regular Process.
After the remarks, we will open the floor to questions.
With that, Mr.
Hill, you have the floor.
Thanks so much and welcome everyone and indeed, happy Oceans Day.
Steve Hill.
I'm Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and on behalf of everyone in the UN Office of Legal Affairs, who works on issues involving the oceans, law of the sea.
Welcome to this event.
I think as we mark World Oceans Day, the World Ocean Assessment really does remind us that the ocean, our planet's vital life support system is under mounting stress and increasing pressure and we hope to share a little bit today about what that entails for the United Nations, what's in the report, and the like.
I'm so pleased to be joined by the fellow panelists, including the co chair of the ad hoc working group of the whole on the regular process.
The regular process was established by the General Assembly and through the World Oceans assessments, it provides a synthesis of the latest available science on the state of the world's ocean as well as the social, economic, and cultural activities related to it.
This is the only global ocean assessment that's mandated by the General Assembly.
It's a very unique document.
The World Oceans Assessment offers comprehensive information that is meant to support decision making for the sustainable management of the ocean and also to contribute to a range of international ocean related processes.
Today, we are launching, of course, the third Ocean assessment, the Third World Ocean Assessment.
It really represents a monumental effort.
It drew on the work of almost 600 experts from interdisciplinary writing teams under the guidance of the group of experts of the regular process.
The assessment was endorsed by the General Assembly by resolution 80 slash 110 of last December nine of 2025, and that marked the completion of the third cycle of the regular process.
This recognition by the General Assembly really does underscore the importance that UN member states attach to science based decision making in the stewardship of the ocean.
So that's why we're really thrilled to present to you today.
I'm very pleased to inform you that the Third World Ocean Assessment is available today for the first time through a dedicated digital platform, and the address of that is wal oceans assessment dot.org.
So we would encourage you to have a look at this document.
And there's also information on the regular process website about the process that I talked about more generally.
So building on the momentum of the regular process this launch today.
The fourth cycle of the regular process is now underway.
Among its objectives is the broad dissemination of the findings of the Third World Ocean Assessment.
As I said at the very beginning, the message of the Third World Ocean Assessment is clear and it's urgent.
The planet's oceans are under bounding stress and increasing pressure.
The time to act is now guided by science, and working together, we can steer the ocean towards a sustainable future, enabling its health and resilience for people today and the years ahead.
Thank you very much and happy World Oceans Day.
Thank you.
Ambassador Tassi, please, you can take the floor now.
Thank you so much, Sharon, and thank you also, dear, Stephen, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs.
I'm very happy to be here.
Happy Ocean Day.
Thank you for having me in this space.
I'm the Chach deffair of the Permanent mission of the King of the Netherlands, the United Nations.
Maybe just a quick introduction.
I represent four autonomous countries at the United States, the Netherlands, Aruba Cursa and St.
Martin.
All our countries are surrounded by water and connected by the ocean.
Water plays a key role in our daily lives.
Water is both our greatest asset and our biggest challenge.
Living with water has shaped the identity of the kingdom of the Netherlands, which lies partly in Europe and partly in the Caribbean.
It has driven innovation, resilience, and cooperation across our kingdom.
With this experience in mind, I'm really excited to speak to you about the Third World Ocean Assessment and build on what Stephen just shared with you.
This landmark report may be the most comprehensive assessment of the ocean to date.
It offers a powerful road map for action through global collaboration and multilateralism.
I have the honor and great privilege of co chairing the ad hoc working group of the whole on the regular process.
I do so together with my fellow co chair, miss Kimberly Lewis.
She is a deputy permanent representative of the permanent mission of St.
Lucia to the United Nations.
She's regrettably unable to join us today due to prior commitments.
Today's launch of the Third World Ocean Assessment, as Stephen also said, through his new digital platform on World Oceans Day is really an important moment and I'm very happy to mark this moment together with you.
By enabling broad access to its findings, the platform will strengthen our ability to make decisions, effective decisions based on sound and credible science.
As co chair, I have engaged with member states.
They consistently underline the vital role of the regular process and its world ocean assessments.
They value its ability to provide the best available ocean science, science that supports informed decision making without prescribing policy.
The Third World Ocean Assessment offers the most comprehensive and up to date global analysis of the state of the ocean.
This is a collective achievement.
As Stephen said, nearly 600 experts from 86 countries have contributed to this assessment.
They brought not only expertise, they also brought diverse perspectives shaped by different experiences of the ocean.
Together, they created a common foundation of knowledge for the world to act on.
This assessment stands as a testament to what we can achieve through global collaboration and multilateralism.
The report looks across all regions.
It introduces important innovations.
These include forward looking sustainability pathways and cross cutting themes on gender equity and indigenous traditional owner and local community knowledge.
It has been called possibly the most important book about the ocean ever written for a reason.
The report also delivers a clear and urgent message.
It presents a sobering picture of marine ecosystems under growing strain.
Climate change, pollution, overexploitation, and habitat degradation are putting the ocean under pressure from many sides.
They are disrupting fragile ecosystems on which we all depend.
The message is really simple.
We have the knowledge and we must act here at the United Nations.
This is how we show the strength of multilateralism.
In this building, the whole world is present.
We meet here, we set norms here.
I encourage all of you to amplify the key messages of the Third World Ocean Assessment and to promote its broad dissemination.
Together, we can turn knowledge into action and commitment into lasting impact.
Together, we can work for a healthy, resilient, and productive ocean for the long term future of people and planets.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ambassador, Mr.
Costa, Flores yours.
Bourget Hello, everyone.
Happy World Ocean Day.
I don't know how much more I can add that's already been very comprehensive.
Mine is a perspective more of an upbringing and an education in not only my youth, but also career.
The ocean is life.
It's very simple.
It connects every one of us on this planet.
It's a universal circulatory system of all life that we know that we cherish.
And that we depend on.
It's been an absolute honor and privilege to have that as a background, as a classroom, and as a vehicle for passion and understanding of the human being and its relationship with the ocean.
Whether we love the ocean or not, the ocean is our life support system.
Without it, we don't exist.
By definition, we must care and we must understand and cherish it as if our lives dependent on it.
The World Ocean assessment, the Third World Ocean Assessment is a bastion of knowledge.
It is a trajectory within the three ocean assessments to give us a much clearer vision of where we've been and where we go.
Thanks to the hundreds of experts in the field who share their knowledge freely to the rest of us, we have a much clearer understanding of not only where we stand, but what we must do as a global community.
It is an unbelievable treasure trove of ability to give hope and to give solutions for the future generations to be able to benefit from what we've taken advantage of.
With that said, I will at the risk of repeating history in my family, quote something my grandfather used to tell me when I was a child.
People protect what they love, they love what they understand and they understand what they're taught.
With this invaluable knowledge in this document, we have a chance at turning the tide, changing the course that we've set for ourselves.
With that, I thank you so very much for being here and helping share the knowledge and please visit the World Ocean Assessment web page when it's up.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And last, Mr.
Gonzalez Qs, please go ahead.
Thank you very much.
It is both a great honor and a responsibility to speak on behalf of all of those that have contributed to the World Ocean Assessment three.
It's impossible to summarize 1,600 pages of interdisciplinary work in just a few minutes, but I will highlight some key general messages.
While we celebrate the publication of this scientifically robust report, its findings are deeply concerning.
The ocean, its ecosystems, biodiversity, and the services it provides which support our economies, well being and the cultural heritage of coastal and indigenous peoples is deteriorating rapidly at an accelerating rate.
This is not an opinion, is the clear conclusion drawn from extensive scientific advice.
Ocean is a highly interconnected system and so are the pressures affecting it.
At the global scale, global population growth, economic expansion, and increasing demand of resources are intensifying these pressures.
Climate change stands out as the most significant driver.
It is causing rising temperatures, sea level rise, aification, deoxygenation, as well as increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events such as marine heat waves.
Addition, other human pressures, pollution, plastics, invasive species, overfishing and coastal development are acting synergistically further degrading marine ecosystems.
As a consequence, marine biodiversity is being significantly impacted at accelerated rates.
Many species and habitats are in decline, particularly in shallow coastal ecosystems and despite effective conservation measures.
For example, coral reefs are increasingly affected by marine heat waves leading to widespread bleaching and loss of biodiversity.
At the same time, many marine species remain unassessed and much of marine life is still unknown, particularly in the deep sea.
The report also shows that the ocean economy is expanding rapidly across sectors such as aquaculture, tourism, and shipping, as well as emerging areas like renewable energy and marine biotechnology.
While this growth is vital for food security, employment, and economic development, it's increasingly constrained by the declining health of the ocean.
Fisheries illustrates both the challenges and the opportunities.
Overfishing and illegal practices continue to put pressure on fish stocks.
However, when science based management is effectively applied, recovery is possible.
For small scale fisheries remain essential for livelihoods, food security, and socioeconomic equity, but they face growing pressures and require stronger support and more equitable access.
A sustainable ocean economy can only exist if it's built upon the healthy and resilient ocean.
The ocean is also central to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The open ocean is one of the two major global carbon sinks on Earth while mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes contain the highest carbon densities.
The ocean therefore offers crucial opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation.
However, this capacity is being weakened by environmental degradation, and we still face significant uncertainties mainly in the processes involved.
Understanding, protecting, and restoring marine ecosystems is therefore essential not only for biodiversity, but also for effective climate action.
Ocean health is directly linked to human health, but it also faces increasing risks from population and climate related hazard.
These impacts are not equally distributed.
Traditional coastal communities, small island developing states, and indigenous peoples are often the most affected, making equity a central issue.
Finally, these challenges cannot be addressed without reimagining Two fundamental areas observation and governance.
To address the challenges highlighted in the Third World Ocean Assessment, we must significantly strengthen ocean observation.
Although major advances have been made through new technologies, our current capacity remains insufficient to fully understand and manage such a dynamic and interpatic system.
Expanding observation system, strengthening scientific capacity and enhancing international collaboration are essential.
Governance also remains a major challenge.
Despite important progress, fragmentation continues to limit effectiveness.
Stronger coordination, integrated science based approaches, and inclusive management frameworks at all scales are urgently needed.
In conclusion, safeguarding ocean health is essential for planet stability, human well being, and sustainable development.
The message is simple but urgent.
The future of humanity depends on the future of the ocean.
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
We will now take questions.
Pam, please go ahead.
Thanks so much.
It's Pamela Faulk and on behalf of the UN Correspondent Association, we thank you all for the briefing from US News and World Report.
My question is, there is progress as the BBNJ had on the high seas, but there has not been progress, or at least not yet on a treaty on plastics.
Now, I haven't read all 100 pages yet.
As you can see, I've been out a little with this arm issue.
But one of the things the summary said is that 52 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, 24 trillion microplastic particles.
Our report last year at US News was that it was a credit cards worth of plastic in everyone's brain.
Um, that is just shocking.
Mr.
Cousteau, you talked about optimism in the future and how this report is hoping to make things better.
Tell us all of you how that can be relieved because we're leaving the next generation with a big problem in terms of their own health.
Thank you.
No, go ahead.
I can only speak as an ocean witness being out in the field, but you're correct.
There are a lot of problems and many of them are not getting any better.
They're not getting better for several reasons, in my opinion.
One of them is the lack of focus on the ocean as a critical part of why we exist in our daily interactions, our social medias, our news organizations.
We just don't talk about it enough.
We celebrate the ocean one day out of the year.
Depend on it the entire year itself, whether it's the 60 plus percent of the oxygen that it brings us or many other statistics that we can throw at you.
But at the end of the day, unless we engage and share that knowledge in a way that catches the average person's attention, moving the needle towards a positive space is a very difficult thing to do.
You just pointed to a few statistics that are very alarming.
The credit card size worth of plastic that we ingest, from what I understand, every week, not just in our brains, in microplastics.
We should be alarmed at that because of the endocrine disruptors and so on and so forth that those vehicles carry into our systems.
Imagine what it does in the circulatory system of the planet.
Some things that we've done over the last 50, 60, 70 years and my grandfather was talking about climate change and so on back in the 60s, many experts were.
But now, the positive side of things is we're actually talking about it.
We're actually starting to listen.
I think the alarm bells have been loud enough that most people understand the basics of the urgency, at least enough to open a conversation.
The good news also is that because of the World Ocean Assessment and other expertise out there, we're starting to understand how to implement the beginnings of solutions, how to engage people in ways that hopefully will change the course we've set for ourselves.
With that said, it's no time to give up and it's certainly no time to start going silent.
If you look at this table right here, this panel, normally one, two, or three people are sitting up here.
We are four people.
It's very unusual for the UN from what I understand.
There is a sense of urgency just in the showing of faces on this platform.
With that, I'd like to pass it to one of my esteemed colleagues to maybe answer more in depth.
Thank you.
Just trying to very briefly to be a bit optimistic.
I mean, 20 years ago, not even the scientists were aware of the problem of the plastics.
Now, everybody is talking about plastics all over the world.
I know that the problem is not easy to solve, but there's many legislations around the world trying to solve the problem.
So we Even though we are far from solving the problem, I think that the progress is huge and the ocean is becoming something that is on the media and everywhere.
I think that we are far from getting to the solution, but I think we are progressing at least at a good rate.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you, Pamela, for your question.
Also nice to meet you.
What you were just saying.
This is something also my daughters, I have two daughters, 21, 23-years-old and already for years, they are constantly reminding me and my husband and the rest of the family of this huge problem regarding plastic.
Also during holidays, we usually love to go to the sea or to the ocean and we always witness these challenges.
And I think building also on what Rafael and Fabien was saying, it is really positive that now more and more people are aware of it, I would say from young to old and across all disciplines.
And I truly hope that the Third World Ocean Assessment and its findings will really help with this shared evidence and the knowledge that we really need to do something and also how we can do something.
So I think we should continue to have also, I mean, accelerate the action that is really necessary.
Pamela, thanks so much for your question and also for putting the spotlight on that.
As an international lawyer, it's really important for us to be part of that conversation.
I'm glad that we're the fourth of your panel today because honestly, this is exactly the kind of problem that international law can help with.
It's not easy.
It's hard.
One thing I wanted to point out about the World Ocean Assessment is that for the first time ever in this third one, there's an actual dedicated chapter on governance, on the legal elements.
You were referring to it at the end of your presentation.
But I think that's really significant.
Back in the first one and the second one, the governance elements were treated as subtopics in the various issues like fisheries and what Frankly, governance is really going to be crucial for that.
We've had the fragmentation of governance is really a challenge.
To be optimistic too, one thing I think that's coming together with this recognition that everybody here is talking about is the recognition on the governance side that we need to share practices from lots of different sectors.
The challenge of the ocean when it comes to governance and the law is that it's really fragmented.
That's also the amazing opportunity.
I hope that stuff like the World Ocean Assessment can help people realize that, wow, there are things we can take from science, there are things we can take from other fields of environmental law or international law.
There are things we can take from NGOs, the private sector and hopefully contribute to the discussion.
Thanks a lot for that question.
Thank you, Emily, and then Stefano.
Thank you.
Am Barier from AFP news agency.
As you all mentioned, the report is very big and it might be overwhelming for people trying to have a look at it.
I mean, looking at it and even showing the huge task ahead of the humanity to try to do something about it.
To try to facilitate, maybe if you had one measure that you would recommend would be the most crucial and easier and maybe would make the most difference more quickly, that people could have some understanding of what we could do to help make the situation better.
That's a difficult question to answer.
The problem is that the ocean is a very complex system.
If I choose one topic, I will leave 1,000 topics behind.
I mean, The plastics, for instance, is a huge thing, everybody's aware, but I have to say which is going to be the biggest problem and it's currently the biggest is climate change.
I mean, plastic everybody's becoming very aware of the plastic problem because it's easy to understand and it's easy to tackle.
But climate change is affecting the ocean in many different ways.
By the way, the ocean is part of the climate system.
So climate change, I think it must be in the front line of all the actions and taking the ocean as an opportunity, as I said, like these things about governance and how we I mean, how we try to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The ocean that, for instance, is providing us economic benefits, it's very important to try to rely on that because otherwise we will have societies that are in a worse situation to face the changes ahead.
So I'm sorry not to say one thing because if I do so, I will be I mean, putting the focus.
And the focus here is the complexity of the ocean and that we are like, dealing with a fractile issue and solutions.
And so integration is the key point of how to approach it.
Sorry that I didn't answer that.
Thank you.
Would anyone else wish to respond? Please go ahead, Ambassador.
No, please, how does it work? Emily, also, very nice to meet you.
And I think your question is so pertinent.
I saw how thick the first and how thick the second and the third is going to be even thicker.
And it's it's it's a very important document that needs to be used, but it is huge.
And the question is always, how do you bring such an important book the most important book on the ocean to date, how do you bring it to life? That is something we all need to think about and also to have a two or four pager maybe in a very simple way explaining the key messages and maybe also even if you want to find something about oceans that you can click a hyperlink and then you can get to relevant parts of the report.
I think really the most important thing of today is really that we have an up to date book with presenting the most current knowledge and experience and evidence that we must do something about the ocean, all of us, no matter what our age or our background is.
And when we discuss issues regarding the ocean that we go back to this document to find the most current knowledge and really to turn that knowledge into action, that also turns into long lasting effects.
The most important message lets all of us amplify the messages and start using it and we can later discuss how we can make it more easy.
But I think also You know, we think a lot about young people brought a case to the International Court of Justice, which issued an advisory opinion on climate change.
Young people I can also see with my daughters are very interested.
So we can also think of a two page for children, for young people that say while they're growing up, that they have the latest knowledge and know how they can pressure us for action.
Anyone else would like to respond? Please go ahead.
Well, just to say that I mean, there's there's a summary of the report and within the summary, there's a set of key messages that are like the main bullet.
It's not one or two.
It's a long list that it tries to put the focus on.
And we have been working also in delivering other key messages for each of the chapters.
So that will be available as well.
Also two summaries are coming, one on climate change and another one on biodiversity, trying to summarize and integrate all the information.
So we are working hard on that.
So the cliff notes are available for those.
I mean, it's a very good question.
I know I get it all the time.
What can I do? What can I do? What's the one thing? The silver bullet doesn't exist, to be honest, because as you mentioned, the complexities.
But the complexities of the ocean are one aspect on one side and then of course, the complexities of individuals and their lives, their capabilities, their pressures within their own ecosystems.
So Luckily, there's a summary and you can drill down into specific questions and specific studies on the site itself, which is fantastic.
I'm assuming.
I think that's how it works usually on the web.
But more specifically, in terms of the individual or the community looking to contribute to a positive solution, it's very specific to that individual.
I would urge an individual or a person or a group to do the things they can do, do something that's better than what happened yesterday and whether it's focused on what I call one of the three larger broad topics, which, of course, you can drill down into the subcategories, whether it's in pollution related issues.
Aka plastic pollution, for example, whether it's in the climate change related arena, which of course is very complex, or whether it's in the overconsumption of natural resources, which is another broad topic as well.
Each individual person within their capabilities can contribute to positive action in those categories.
Whether you are in the United States and extremely well off or whether you are in a developing country, and your resources are limited.
There are a lot of things each one of us can do.
It's not that difficult when you look at what you as an individual can contribute.
It could be as easy as writing to your representative in government.
It can be something along the lines of mitigating your own plastic pollution within your household.
It's not that difficult to contribute.
I think the biggest stumbling block is the question that we all think and it's It can be overwhelming for someone like myself, like us when we start looking at the global picture, but when we start looking at what we can do within our own lives, that will be positive action right there.
Thank you, Stefano, please.
Thank you very much, Stephanie Var, watching New York Ital Press.
Well, I want to talk about the elephant in the room and also other elephants that hides outside of this room.
The elephant in the room is the policy of the Trump administration that just announced that it is cutting all the monitoring of the oceans.
United States is a country that has one of a few countries that is in both oceans and this is going to cause a lot of problems.
I have a question on this.
You talk about individual responsibility, of course, But I don't know, do you have in this book, in this report that you ask him maybe make an individual in the world to look at it and find a way to help? Do you have a list at the end, at the beginning of the good, the bad, and the ugly the government actions since the last report and I see the ambassador here of the Netherlands, I'm sure Netherlands has been one to put on the list of the good.
I can sense it.
But will help the public, the individuals that you want to look at the book.
My question is simple.
Do you have the list if you don't, you don't because you don't have the authorization, the political weight.
You can do it basically, or you just another one of those reports from the UN that talks about the problems but doesn't touch who caused also the problem.
We have been specifically asked not to be politically prescriptive in this report.
However, I mean, it's easy to infer what is an appropriate political action and is not from what is written in the report.
What we provide the scientific robust scientific evidence that in many cases leads to very direct needed actions.
And I just, for instance, talk about the importance of ocean observation.
You have my answer to your question.
I think.
Yeah.
Thank you.
And let me just check if there are any questions online.
I see no questions.
No more questions in the room.
So I think this press briefing comes to an end.
I just wish to thank our guests and thank everyone for joining both in person and online.
Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.