Iran marks World Oceans Day 2016

Every year, World Oceans Day is celebrated on 8 June to mobilize society and raise awareness about the ocean, its biodiversity and its resources, AVA Diplomatic reports.

This year, Iran celebrated World Ocean’s Day on the 5th of June with an event organized jointly by the Iranian National Committee for Oceanography and the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, in Tehran.

After the opening remarks by Dr. Hajizadeh, Director of the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science, Mr. Ali Osat Hashemi, Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, delivered a speech and spoke of the importance of the oceans and the seas to Iran’s resistance economy. “Sustainable economic development in Iran is not possible without a healthy ocean”, he said.

Dr. Nasiri, Secretary-General of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO talked about the greatness and interconnectivity of the universe to highlight our collective responsibility to protect our planet and its oceans.

Special guest speaker, Ms. Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office first read out the message of Ms. Irina Bovova, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Oceans Day: “Despite the increasing impacts of human activities on the marine environment, the ocean remains an important driver in eradicating the greatest global challenge facing the world today: extreme poverty. The ocean is an integral part of our planet, and an absolutely essential component of human lives, livelihoods and the environment that sustains us. From fisheries and tourism to transportation and climate regulation, the ocean is key to implementing the new global agenda.”

After that, Ms. Kuisch Laroche delivered a keynote speech in which she underlined the importance of a healthy ocean to all life on earth and the urgent need to act now in order to preserve the planet’s single largest ecosystem. “We believe that ocean degradation can be reversed and the current cycle of decline can be transformed into a cycle of recovery. Yet the task of saving the global ocean is one that no government, company, UN agency or individual can achieve alone. Stopping the abusive and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and restoring ocean health, requires a coalition for change with a clear mission.”

Ms. Kuisch Laroche referred to the COP 21 agreement in Paris and the 2030 Sustainable Developent Agenda in which ocean health features very prominently.

She also mentioned that UNESCO had recently approved the establishment of a Regional Education and Research Center on Oceanography for West Asia under the auspices of UNESCO, in Iran. She expressed the hope that this Center would play a leading role in raising awareness and strengthening research in the region.