19 June 2012
Oceans Day at Rio Pavilion Celebrates Ten Years of the Global Ocean Forum
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Oceans Day at Rio+20 featured seven panel sessions that addressed: perspectives on Rio+20; scaling up integrated governance of the oceans; enhancing fisheries for food security, social and economic benefits; SIDS and oceans; climate change and ocean acidification; toward the blue economy and society; and moving forward.

16 June 2012: Oceans Day took place at the Rio Conventions Pavilion, on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The event consisted of seven panels, a lunch celebrating ten years of the Global Ocean Forum and the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and a closing session presenting the outcomes of Oceans Day to the Rio+20 process.

Panel sessions included: renewing our political commitments – perspectives on Rio+20; scaling up integrated governance of the oceans; the living ocean – enhancing fisheries for food security, social and economic benefits; small island developing States (SIDS) and oceans – building resilience, enhancing social and economic benefits; climate change and ocean acidification; toward the blue economy and society – perspectives, experiences and initiatives; and moving forward.

Oceans Day was co-chaired by Biliana Cicin-Sain, President, Global Ocean Forum, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and Wendy Watson-Wright, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

The event concluded with a reception and an Oceans Celebration organized by Nausicaa, the World Oceans Network, Forum do Mar, Brazil, Tara Expedition, Green Cross, OpenOceans and Sea Orbiter. [IISD RS Coverage]

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