C063 Advocate for Ocean Health
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.” Psalm 24:1-2. As stewards with dominion over God’s good Creation, we have a sacred covenant relationship with God to use the resources of nature wisely and with reverence, preserving God’s bounty for all generations to come. Genesis Ch. 1; BCP Prayer 41, p. 827. Thus, as Christians, as Episcopalians, and as God’s stewards, we are called to care for the oceans and to pray, study, and act in support of Ocean Health. Threats to Ocean Health from climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources are a pressing global environmental crisis. In response, the global community has made the restoration of ocean health a high priority as recognized by the United Nations in Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.[1] Efforts to mitigate sea level rise and to adapt to unavoidable effects from sea level rise are recognized as a high priority in Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. As summarized by the UN, the world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.[2] Moreover, our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the oceans.[3] The following facts from the UN explain show how Ocean Health is critical to human development and well-being: • Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods • Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions • Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming • Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein • Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people • As much as 40 per cent of the world oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.[4] Sustainable Development Goal 14’s recommended actions were based largely on a three-year study process overseen by the Global Ocean Commission, which launched in February 2013 and published final reports in February 2016.[5] The Commission’s focus was on the “high seas,” vast ocean areas that lie beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones of individual countries.[6] Importantly, Ocean Health Work must occur within the Exclusive Economic Zones of countries as well as on the “high seas.” Thus, while this explanation references the SDG program that is familiar to the Episcopal Church, the resolution is intended to support the widest possible call to engage in Ocean Health Work at all levels of engagement, international, national, state, and local. Sustainable Development Goal 13’s recommended actions are based largely on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”).[7] The IPCC produces periodic reports summarizing the peer-reviewed literature on climate change that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the main international treaty on climate change. The IPCC’s reports include assessments of the causes and risks of sea level rise and of actions needed to mitigate risks and to adapt to unavoidable impacts from sea level rise. Finally, especially in recognition of the magnitude of problems to be addressed, dioceses, congregations, and all the baptized are encouraged to partner with ecumenical and interfaith groups and with non-governmental organizations engaging in Ocean Health Work, and also to minister to the climate refugees in our communities who have had to leave their homes due to sea level rise and ocean pollution. [1] http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/ [2] Id. [3] Id. [4] Id. [5] The reports from the Global Ocean Commission can be downloaded here: http://www.some.ox.ac.uk/research/global-ocean-commission/download-reports/ [6] http://www.some.ox.ac.uk/research/global-ocean-commission/ [7] http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/goals/goal-13/en/
Explanation
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.” Psalm 24:1-2. As stewards with dominion over God’s good Creation, we have a sacred covenant relationship with God to use the resources of nature wisely and with reverence, preserving God’s bounty for all generations to come. Genesis Ch. 1; BCP Prayer 41, p. 827. Thus, as Christians, as Episcopalians, and as God’s stewards, we are called to care for the oceans and to pray, study, and act in support of Ocean Health. Threats to Ocean Health from climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources are a pressing global environmental crisis. In response, the global community has made the restoration of ocean health a high priority as recognized by the United Nations in Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.[1] Efforts to mitigate sea level rise and to adapt to unavoidable effects from sea level rise are recognized as a high priority in Sustainable Development Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. As summarized by the UN, the world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.[2] Moreover, our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the oceans.[3] The following facts from the UN explain show how Ocean Health is critical to human development and well-being: • Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods • Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions • Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming • Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein • Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people • As much as 40 per cent of the world oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.[4] Sustainable Development Goal 14’s recommended actions were based largely on a three-year study process overseen by the Global Ocean Commission, which launched in February 2013 and published final reports in February 2016.[5] The Commission’s focus was on the “high seas,” vast ocean areas that lie beyond the Exclusive Economic Zones of individual countries.[6] Importantly, Ocean Health Work must occur within the Exclusive Economic Zones of countries as well as on the “high seas.” Thus, while this explanation references the SDG program that is familiar to the Episcopal Church, the resolution is intended to support the widest possible call to engage in Ocean Health Work at all levels of engagement, international, national, state, and local. Sustainable Development Goal 13’s recommended actions are based largely on the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”).[7] The IPCC produces periodic reports summarizing the peer-reviewed literature on climate change that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the main international treaty on climate change. The IPCC’s reports include assessments of the causes and risks of sea level rise and of actions needed to mitigate risks and to adapt to unavoidable impacts from sea level rise. Finally, especially in recognition of the magnitude of problems to be addressed, dioceses, congregations, and all the baptized are encouraged to partner with ecumenical and interfaith groups and with non-governmental organizations engaging in Ocean Health Work, and also to minister to the climate refugees in our communities who have had to leave their homes due to sea level rise and ocean pollution. [1] http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/ [2] Id. [3] Id. [4] Id. [5] The reports from the Global Ocean Commission can be downloaded here: http://www.some.ox.ac.uk/research/global-ocean-commission/download-reports/ [6] http://www.some.ox.ac.uk/research/global-ocean-commission/ [7] http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/goals/goal-13/en/