Ocean conservation is the 14th of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world’s plan to end poverty and achieve sustainability by 2030. The ocean is Earth’s life-support system, offering a source of food; playing a crucial part in regulating the climate and the water cycle; and supplying a range of habitats that support biodiversity. It also provides livelihoods to people around the world. Unfortunately, by many measures, progress towards this goal is going in the wrong direction.
Over the past few years, world leaders have put their names to several ocean-related treaties and agreements. However, scientists have warned that compliance is a serious problem, as we and others have reported. At the same time, new treaties, such as an agreement on plastics, are under discussion, but these are often at high risk of being watered down, not least because of the outsized influence of oil and gas interests.
