Brussels, 08/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - “Our Oceans, Our Responsibility" was the subject of World Oceans Day, celebrated by the United Nations for the first time on Monday 8 June, to raise public awareness of the threats posed by overfishing, pollution and destruction of the natural habitat of a resource which covers 97% of all living species.
At World Oceans Day, the European Commission reiterated the vital importance of the world's seas and oceans of Europe as regulators of the climate and major reservoirs of biodiversity, and the EU's determination to ensure that they are managed correctly. These words are backed up by the thematic strategy of 2008 adopted by the EU to protect and conserve the marine environment, and the framework directive which accompanies it, to guarantee that between now and 2020, all the marine waters of the EU will be environmentally healthy.
In a press release, Stavros Dimas, Commissioner for the Environment, said: "Seas and oceans are an important source of life on our planet. They play a strategic role in sustaining climate and weather patterns, distributing solar energy, and absorbing carbon. Yet, they have been neglected for too long. Their protection is essential for the future of our planet". This first ever World Oceans Day was designed to "emphasise our individual and collective duty to protect the marine environment and carefully manage its resources. Safe, healthy and productive seas and oceans are integral to human well-being, economic security and sustainable development", stressed Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations. (A.N./trans.fl)