European Union: Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has announced a pound 1 billion investment plan to protect oceans and support coastal communities and fisheries. “There is a funding shortfall to support ocean conservation, to support ocean science, and sustainable fishing,” she said.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, speaking at the United Nations Ocean conservation summit in the French city of Nice on Monday, Von Der Leyen stated that the funds will be allocated to 50 different projects around the world. The bloc’s new Ocean Pact aims to reduce plastic pollution, restore maritime ecosystems, renew an aging fleet, and combat illegal fishing. “Europe is taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal practices, zero tolerance. We want to stop the criminals moving between neighboring countries,” she emphasized.
She further explained that the EU will develop regional partnerships in the Mediterranean, Western Africa, and the Pacific. “In Europe, we will use our digital registration of fish catches to he
lp prevent illegally caught fish from coming into the European Union,” she added.
French President Emmanuel Macron echoed similar sentiments, urging European countries to follow the commitments being made to safeguard the oceans. “We must protect our territorial waters and these maritime zones everywhere,” he stated.
The conference comes as just 2.7 percent of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the non-profit Marine Conservation Institute. This is significantly below the target agreed under the ’30×30′ pledge within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to conserve at least 30 percent of Earth’s land and ocean areas by 2030.