The SDGs provide a long-term, non-partisan framework for a more sustainable vision of urban development that provides equal opportunities for all inhabitants, promotes healthy living environments with access to green space, and is resilient in the face of everyday disasters and climatic hazards.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Goal 14 is about conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources. Healthy oceans and seas are essential to human existence and life on Earth. They cover 70 per cent of the planet and provide food, energy and water. The ocean absorbs around one quarter of the world’s annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, thereby mitigating climate change and alleviating its impacts.
It is essential to conserve and sustainably use them. Yet, human activity is endangering the oceans and seas – the planet’s largest ecosystem – and affecting the livelihoods of billions of people.
The ocean drives the global systems that make the Earth a habitable place for humans. Our rainfall, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food and even the oxygen in the air we breathe are provided and regulated by the sea.
Careful management of this essential global resource is a crucial feature of a sustainable future. However, there is a continuing deterioration of coastal waters due to pollution and ocean acidification that is harming ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. It is also having a detrimental impact on small-scale fisheries.
Protecting our oceans must remain a priority. Marine biodiversity is vital to the health of people and our planet. Marine protected areas must be effectively managed, as must their resources, and regulations must be put in place to reduce overfishing, marine pollution and ocean acidification.
València, through its Smart City Office, is working to improve the quality of life in urban environments, following the SDG roadmap for a more balanced and equitable urban development.
