Climate Change realities have prompted nations to look towards mankind’s new frontiers of development. Whilst Space and Cyber space too, qualify as new frontiers, it is Oceans that have an immediate bearing on the climate today. They affect global ecosystem in myriad ways. The emergence of blue economy as a concept that enables sustainable development of oceans is testimony to this fact. Ultimately man has realised his erroneous plunder of continental wealth to his own peril and has taken a measure not to repeat that in oceans.
In a timely initiative sponsored by Fiji and Sweden, the UN general assembly conducted the ocean conference. The minister of state Shri MJ Akbar made a rightful call to avoid making oceans as zones of contention. He also highlighted the need for adherence to UNCLOS and respect of sovereignty, on his address on the World Ocean Day. The conference coincided with that day.
The theme of the conference was ‘our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14’. The Conference aims to be ‘the game changer that will reverse the decline in the health of our ocean for people, planet and prosperity’. Following is the text of an article appeared in Economic Times (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/cant-allow-our-seas-to-turn-into-zones-of-contention-india/articleshow/59065179.cms?utm_source=WAPusers&utm_medium=whatsappshare&utm_campaign=socialsharebutton&from=mdr) dated 09 June 2017: