June 8 marks World Oceans Day
Baku, June 8, AZERTAC
Every year on June 8, the world observes World Oceans Day—a global initiative that highlights the vital role oceans play in sustaining life, supporting livelihoods, and maintaining planetary health.
First proposed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and formally recognized by the United Nations in 2008, the day serves as a call to collective action to protect our oceans and help stabilize the climate.
The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth.
The ocean produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to most of earth’s biodiversity, and is the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world. Not to mention, the ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
Even though all its benefits, the ocean is now in need of support.
With 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished. We need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its bounty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings it new life.
"Wonder: Sustaining what sustains us" is the theme for World Oceans Day 2025, a year marked by the UN Decade of Ocean Science and the celebration of the World Ocean Conference. With this new vision, the day celebrates the wonder that the ocean inspires in us: its beauty, its mystery, and its vital role in our lives and on the planet. This day reminds us of our deep connection with the sea and calls for its protection through decisions guided by curiosity, wisdom, and a commitment to collective well-being.
World Oceans Day reminds every one of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our Planet and a major source of food and medicine and a critical part of the biosphere.
The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans.
Hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations, in partnership with the non-profit organization Oceanic Global, this year's annual program will celebrate the wonders of the ocean as a source of life that supports humanity and all other organisms on Earth.
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