A vibrant sustainable ocean economy serving the planet and its people requires a healthy ocean, yet ocean health is at risk from multiple drivers of degradation, including biodiversity loss, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and climate change.
While the economic value of the ocean economy is expected to double by 2030, many ecosystem services such as coastal protection, climate regulation, food security and nutrition, and ecosystem stabilization are threatened because they are not valued by our economic system.
Unsustainable growth will place even greater stress on the ocean, causing entire ocean systems to come closer to potentially irreversible tipping points. Continuing with a "business-as-usual" scenario poses serious risks to ocean health, existing business models, and the people who rely on the ocean for their economic and food security.
As the United Nations' Development agency, UNDP is committed to working with countries and other relevant stakeholders to unleash public and, importantly, private finance for ocean-positive development outcomes. Strengthening awareness and capacity to transition capital flows to sustainable ocean approaches that benefit the economies, the ocean and communities leaving no one behind is critical.
Going forward, we will support efforts to increase coordinated public and private investment in the sustainable ocean economy. We will support integrated national finance and governance frameworks that enable effective ecosystem management, generate needed data to managers and investors, support accurate valuation of ecosystem services, deploy incentives and risk mitigation measures, and generate bankable projects that meet local and national priorities.
Alongside fellow UN agencies and very importantly civil society and the private sector, UNDP is working with partners including UNCDF, UNEP, UNESCO IOC, UN Global Compact, UNCTAD, UN Tourism, IUCN and WRI, to design an innovative, new and transformative global ocean finance facility driven by non-ODA resources, known as One Ocean Finance. One Ocean Finance is a bold effort aimed at unlocking billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors.
We are convinced that such a groundbreaking facility will be a key element supporting the necessary financial push to achieve global and national ocean goals and targets by 2030 and contribute to the post-2030 agenda.
Thank you.
