The Year of Ocean Optimism

The planet sighed with relief as 2020 faded away on New Year’s Eve and a new dawn welcomed the new year. For many, early 2021 has been an extension of a very turbulent and uncertain time. Fortunately, 2021 has also given us lots to celebrate when it comes to ocean recovery. 

As part of the Ocean Panel, the leaders of 14 major maritime nations—representing nearly 40 percent of the world’s coastlines—begin work this year to achieve 100 percent sustainable ocean management of their national waters by 2025. Led by Norway and Palau, the Ocean Panel features heads of state and government from Portugal, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya, Chile, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Fiji, and Australia. Together, their national waters cover 30 million square kilometers, a combined area roughly the size of Africa. 

In the United States, President Biden issued a historic executive order to tackle the climate crisis and protect 30 percent of national lands and waters by 2030. 

Nature has also been given prominence in the United Kingdom. As part of his Sustainable Markets Initiative, HRH The Prince of Wales unveiled the Terra Carta at the One Planet Summit on January 11th —a charter that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector. This comes on the heels of Prince William launching The Earthshot Prize, the most prestigious global environment prize in history.

“New initiatives such as The Earthshot Prize, recently launched by the Duke of Cambridge and the Royal Foundation, and the Commonwealth Innovation Awards for Sustainable Development, provide another reason for optimism. Both awards are an opportunity to showcase innovative and impactful solutions from across the world to incentivize change and help repair our planet,” writes Nicolas Hardman-Mountford, Head of Oceans and Natural Resources at the Commonwealth Secretariat, in his OP-ED which opens the editorial topic on Restoring Marine Ecosystems.  

Our first magazine of 2021 is undoubtedly bursting with optimism: we look at the top 7 emerging ocean conservation issues (and opportunities) of 2021; seagrass expert Richard Unsworth reports on the UK’s largest seagrass restoration initiative, and the Mangrove Action Project explores Thailand’s coastal bee villages, whose residents are using novel techniques to restore their lost mangrove forests. We have stories from the RSPB and BirdLife International on how they managed to save albatross populations across South America and southern Africa, and how a network of MPAs could help safeguard Antarctic penguins. We also welcome NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to this edition as they reveal the journey and importance of expanding the Gulf of Mexico’s only national marine sanctuary, announced this January. 

January also marked the start of the United Nation’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

In the words of the UN Secretary-General H.E. Antonia Guterres, the Ocean Decade is set “to begin an ocean science revolution that restores the ocean’s ability to nurture humanity for current and future generations.” 

Our friends at IOC-UNESCO share the highlights from the Ocean Decade’s launch event, ‘A Brave New Ocean,’ the first major gathering of global leaders, scientists, philanthropists, leaders of United Nations agencies, and sports personalities as they discuss the immense challenges and opportunities the ocean provides. 

A question that goes hand-in-hand with the development of a sustainable Blue Economy is, can coastal development possibly leave its surrounding environment in better condition than if left alone? The Red Sea Development Company believes so and explains how they intend to raise the bar in regenerative tourism with the ambition to create a 30 percent net conservation impact.   

While 2021 has its own challenges, with many nations still battling the COVID pandemic, it is also an exciting year that proclaims the start of an important era for ocean recovery—a reason to be optimistic. 

 Read this exciting edition for free here.