Starting at the source to save the sea: Look upstream to achieve SDG14

Ocean health is critically dependent on society’s ability to minimize the negative effects of human activities. This must be achieved while mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change, as well as making efforts to meet the needs of a growing and more prosperous population. 

According to the brief, the only way to do this is by harmonizing social, economic, and environmental priorities within the system. This calls for new approaches and strengthened partnerships. Actors and sectors located upstream of coastal and marine areas must be engaged. The brief details what it will take to achieve this, and concludes: “Our shared future depends on all levels of government and decision-makers pulling together to drive meaningful change and uniting policy and action for coordinated management in order to restore and maintain the health of the ocean.”