The ocean and the Sustainable Development Goals
The ocean flows through all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an aspirational framework for solving global challenges—including poverty, hunger, gender equality and climate change—by 2030. The 17 interlinked global goals were unanimously adopted in 2015 by all 193 UN member states. While the ocean fits neatly into SDG14: Life Below Water, it also plays a vital role in achieving the entire UN sustainability agenda. But how?
Note to readers: this list is by no means exhaustive.
No Poverty
The livelihoods of more than 3bn people depend on coastal and marine ecosystems, and the vast majority of those people live in developing economies. Fishing and aquaculture alone employed nearly 59m people in 2020, with 84% of all fishers and fish farmers in Asia, 10% in Africa and 4% in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sources: OECD, FAO
Zero Hunger
“Blue foods” from the ocean are a primary source of protein for around 3bn people. The global consumption of blue foods—barring algae—is five times more than it was nearly 60 years ago, having grown from 28m tonnes in 1961 to 158m tonnes in 2019. Only about half of that growth is attributable to an increasing population.
A study by scientists across 11 countries found that the ocean could provide over six times more food than it does today, equal to more than two-thirds of the animal protein needed to feed the future global population.
Sources: WWF, FAO, Costello et al., 2020
Good Health and Well Being
Human health and ocean health are intimately linked—half the oxygen we breathe is produced by microorganisms in the ocean, blue foods provide protein to billions, the ocean regulates freshwater cycles (providing us with drinking water) and simply having an ocean view is linked to mental well-being.
Plastic and chemicals—including mercury, arsenic and lead—are increasingly flowing into the ocean and can eventually enter our own bodies. While research on this is still evolving, it is believed that consuming microplastics and ocean chemicals could cause cancer and organ damage and impede bodily functions.
Sources: Fleming et al., 2021, Nutsford et al., 2016, Back to Blue Initiative
Quality Education
The UN Decade for Ocean Science is in full swing. Multiple studies have found that nature-based education outperforms traditional instruction, boosts overall academic achievement and can foster a life-long emotional connection to the environment.
In one study in California, children who attended school outdoors improved test scores by 27%. This connection to nature as well as overall ocean literacy is key to prepare the blue workforce of the future, a workforce that must draw on a range of interdisciplinary skills to realise the full potential of the blue economy.
Source: Kuo et al., 2019, American Institutes for Research, Kelly et al., 2022, UNESCO, Sea Ranger Service
Gender Equality
Women are responsible for more than half of small-scale catches across the Pacific, but in aquaculture and fisheries overall, 90% of women are employed in underpaid or unpaid work. At the same time, women’s role in aquatic foods has been found to better serve children and vulnerable communities.
In Small Island Developing States, women account for 54% of the tourism workforce, yet these jobs are often considered “unskilled” or temporary.
By contrast, women account for only 1% of the seafaring workforce worldwide. Investing in women’s and girls’ education and employment leads to financial returns: gender equality could boost global GDP by US13trn and would inevitably contribute to the blue economy.
Sources: UNCTAD, IMO, Harper et al. 2013, UNWTO
Clean Water and Sanitation
The vast majority of ocean plastic, 80%, flows from just over 1,600 rivers from around the world. Small urban rivers are some of the biggest feeders of plastic into the ocean. Sea-level rise can cause saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers and water sources, and warming ocean water disrupts the cycles that regulate freshwater systems. Desalination—turning saltwater into safe, drinkable freshwater—is one solution to ensuring water security in water-stressed environments.
Sources: Meijer et al., 2021, NEEF, World Bank
Affordable and Clean Energy
In 2019, offshore wind generated 111.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy globally—that’s enough to power all UK households in 2020 (108TWh). The actual capacity of installed offshore wind globally could grow from 40 gigawatts (GW) in 2020 to 630GW by 2050, with potential to reach 1,000GW in a 1.5° pathway scenario.
Tidal stream and wave energy are at an early stage of development compared with offshore wind, but they offer a reliable energy source which can be predicted years in advance. The potential global market of tidal power is 150-800TWh per year, equalling US$41.2bn annually. A mixture of both tidal and wave power could meet 10% of the EU’s energy demand by 2050, with the right regulatory incentives in place.
Sources: IEA, GOV.UK, McKinsey and Company, European Commission
Decent Work and Economic Growth
The export value of the blue economy is now worth approximately US$2.5trn per year—about 3% of GDP in 2020. If the ocean were a country, it would be the eighth-largest economy. The ocean’s natural capital alone is valued at US$24trn.
Tourism, energy, shipping, and fishing and aquaculture are key ocean industries, but jobs in conservation, marine research and science, communications, engineering, maritime law and so much more contribute to the blossoming blue economy.
Sources: UNCTAD, WWF
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Of globally traded goods, 90% travel by sea, and shipping contributes almost 3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Coastal infrastructure, including “green” infrastructure, helps protect people, homes, buildings and power networks from damage caused by storms and sea-level rise.
Coastal wetland ecosystems alone prevented US$625m in property damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Innovation in ocean industries is necessary to support the growing blue economy. Investing in innovative ocean startups—from seaweed farms to tidal energy projects—can provide profitable returns while protecting people and the planet.
Sources: IMO, Nature
Reduced Inqualities
A sustainable and regenerative blue economy would, at its core, aim to reduce existing inequalities based on age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status, as well as inequalities between countries.
One such inequality is around the impacts of climate change: despite contributing less than 1% of greenhouse-gas emissions, Small Island Developing States are among the most vulnerable to sea-level rise, extreme weather, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.
Sources: UNFCCC
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Coastal cities take up roughly 356,000km of global coastline, and about 40% of Earth’s population live within 40km of a coast. Coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as sea-level rise and extreme weather, but are also hubs for innovative climate solutions.
Blue-green infrastructure—protecting/creating wetlands, oyster beds, barrier islands and more—can create a “living shoreline” to strengthen coastlines and protect communities. Coastal and port cities also facilitate around 90% of global trade.
Sources: Neumann et al 2017, United Nations, World Shipping Council
Responsible Consumption and Production
Litter in the environment almost inevitably ends up in the ocean, harming habitats and marine life. Plastic waste makes up an estimated 80% of marine pollution, and 10m-11m tonnes of plastic enters the ocean each year.
Chemical pollution is also a major challenge for the ocean. In Europe, contamination is at “problem” levels—meaning there is evidence of undesirable disturbances to the marine ecosystem—across 96% of the Baltic Sea, 91% of the Black Sea, 87% of the Mediterranean Sea and 75% of the north-east Atlantic Ocean.
Demand for blue foods is putting pressure on fish stocks. If all global fisheries were managed sustainably, at least 16m more tonnes of catch, equalling approximately US$53bn in profit, could be generated relative to a business-as-usual scenario.
Sources: Landrigan et al., 2020, Back to Blue, FAO, Costello et al 2016
Climate Action
The ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat from human-caused global warming, and 83% of the global carbon cycle is circulated through the ocean. Warming waters and melting glaciers lead to sea-level rise and ocean acidification, which disrupt and destroy marine ecosystems and coastal communities, with small islands severely affected.
Blue carbon projects fight climate change and biodiversity loss while creating value: the carbon-sequestration value of a whale is approximately US$3m, and seagrass as an ecosystem provides carbon-capture services worth about US$2.3trn. Some seagrass meadows can sequester carbon 35 times faster than a tropical rainforest.
Sources: NOAA, IUCN, IMF
Life Below Water
Life below water is the “official” ocean SDG. More than 80% of the ocean remains unexplored, yet human wellbeing relies on the bustling activity beneath the waves.
Climate-related loss of coral reef ecosystem services is expected to cost at least US$500bn annually by 2100. Fortunately, coral reefs in remote or protected areas can quickly bounced back from bleaching.Overall, marine vertebrate populations declined nearly 50% between 1970 and 2012, yet through a number of interventions including restoration and conservation efforts, sustainable management of fisheries, improved water quality and more, a substantial amount (50-90%) of marine life could recover by 2050.
Sources: NOAA, WWF, Duarte et al., 2019
Life on Land
75% of the rain that nourishes life on land comes from the ocean. Ocean organisms provide 50% of the oxygen needed for life on land to thrive.
Given its outstanding heat- and carbon-absorbing abilities, the ocean also protects terrestrial ecosystems from baking faster due to climate change. The ocean’s contributions to the water, food and atmospheric breathability upon which life on land depends make it a literal life-support system for the entire planet.
Sources: NASA, NOAA
Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
The UN leads efforts to ensure the peaceful, co-operative, legally defined use of the seas for the benefit of individuals and all humankind. Through high-level forums like the climate Conference of Parties (COPs) and the UN Ocean Conference, global leaders come together to advance action for healthy, resilient seas.
As of November 2021 the newly submitted nationally determined contributions (country-level climate action plans) of 54 coastal countries included at least one ocean action element. A number of treaties and declarations to improve and safeguard ocean health are already in motion.
In March 2022 representatives from 175 nations signed a resolution to end plastic pollution. After ten years of negotiations, a treaty to protect the “high seas”—international waters beyond national jurisdiction—could be delivered by the end of 2022. The International Maritime Organisation is considering stronger regulations around shipping-sector emissions, and numerous institutions and organisations have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
Sources: United Nations, Ocean Conservancy, IMO, World Ocean Initiative
Partnerships for the Goals
Cross-sector collaboration and public-private co-operation to strengthen ocean action and protect ocean health are well under way, as seen through various ocean events throughout the year, including Economist Impact’s World Ocean Summits. Collaboration is particularly important for financing ocean action, as SDG 14 is the least funded out of all 17 SDGs.
In 2019 US$2.3bn was committed to SDG 14 through various financial flows, compared with the US$37.7bn committed to SDG 9, the highest-funded SDG. Blue bonds and blended finance are examples of funding partnerships that can support a sustainable ocean economy and ocean health. When it comes to solutions, partnering with local and Indigneous communities that are already stewards of marine ecosystems is a critical step to ensuring effective and inclusive outcomes.
Sources: The SDG Financing Lab, World Ocean Initiative
