Canada joins Global Ocean Alliance: Advocates for protecting 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030

By Maritime Magazine
2020-07-09

Photo: Pierre Terrien

Today, during the Protecting the Ocean’s Most Important Places webinar, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, announced Canada has joined the United Kingdom and other countries in the Global Ocean Alliance. The Alliance’s goal is to advocate with international partners for ambitious ocean action to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s oceans through the establishment of marine protected areas and other effective area-based marine conservation measures by 2030.

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has worked in partnership with provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, and environmental and industry organizations to increase the protection of our oceans. Canada aimed to conserve 10 per cent of the country’s marine and coastal areas by 2020 and has already surpassed this goal, reaching nearly 14 per cent by August 2019. Canada’s efforts, including the establishment of new marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, have also contributed to the international 10 per cent marine conservation target ahead of the 2020 timeline.

The Government of Canada continues to work toward its ambitious target of protecting 25 per cent of marine and coastal areas by 2025, working toward 30 per cent by 2030. Through the Global Ocean Alliance, we join a growing number of like-minded countries that will advocate internationally for 30 per cent conservation by 2030 around the world. We will work with other countries toward the adoption of new ambitious global biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity at the 15th Conference of Parties in Kunming, China in 2021.

Canada is joining the Global Ocean Alliance to help galvanize international efforts towards a 30 per cent conservation goal that allows the marine environment and sustainable marine economies to thrive.

Quick Facts

In 2019, the United Kingdom established the Global Ocean Alliance to support a global 30 per cent conservation target by 2030 at the Convention on Biological Diversity COP 15 in Kunming, China in 2021.

Including Canada, to date, approximately 22 countries have joined the Alliance: Belgium; Belize; Cabo Verde; Canada; Costa Rica; Croatia; Fiji; Finland; Gabon; Germany; Italy; Kenya; Luxembourg; Monaco; Nigeria; Palau; Portugal; Senegal; Seychelles; Sweden; the United Kingdom; and, Vanuatu.

Minister Jordan announced Canada will join the Global Ocean Alliance at a marine protection webinar: Protecting the Ocean’s Most Important Places Progress towards protecting 10% of the ocean by 2020 and what comes next? organized by Friends of Ocean Action and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has made huge strides to protect our oceans, conserving nearly 14 per cent of our marine and coastal areas ahead of the 2020 deadline, and exceeding the international commitment to conserve 10 per cent of our oceans by 2020.

Having achieved 13.81 per cent ocean conservation, we are now moving forward with a goal of conserving 25 per cent by 2025, and are advocating for other countries around the world to set a target of 30 per cent by 2030.

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