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All eventsOne Ocean Summit
A major international conference on the Ocean is being organized at the initiative of the President of the French Republic in Brest from 9 to 11 February 2022. This first One Ocean Summit aims to give a strong political impetus to the European and international agenda of maritime issues and to translate our shared responsibility for the Ocean into concrete actions.
As rivers and the ocean form a single ecosystem, essential to life, Initiatives for the Future of Great Rivers will be represented throughout the Summit by Erik Orsenna, its Chairman, to give a voice to the rivers.
The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet’s surface. It regulates the main elements of the environmental balance – the climate in particular – and provides rich resources of all types. Nevertheless, it often remains on the sidelines of the major international and European agendas.
To mobilize the international community and take concrete action to reduce the pressures on the ocean, the President of the French Republic has decided to organize a One Planet Summit dedicated to the ocean from February 9 to 11, 2022, in Brest. This One Ocean Summit is organized within the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and is organized with the support of the United Nations and the World Bank in particular.
Several important initiatives should be launched on this occasion for the protection of marine ecosystems and sustainable fishing, the fight against pollution, especially plastic, the response to the effects of climate change and the promotion of better governance of the oceans.
Don’t forget the rivers
As the health of the ocean is linked to that of the rivers, IFGR will be present at this Summit, in the person of Erik Orsenna, its Chairman, who will speak at the official opening.
The ocean, seas, lakes, rivers and streams form a single system that covers nearly three quarters of the Earth’s surface and produces 50% of the planet’s oxygen. Essential to life, these ecosystems provide us with numerous services, in energy, transport, food,… in addition to being formidable reserves of biodiversity.As an interconnection between land and sea, rivers play an essential role. Plastic pollution is an illustration of this continuum: 80% of plastic waste found in the sea comes from land. One aquatic ecosystem, one planet!