Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Blue Ribbon for the Indispensable Ocean


GPO Blue Ribbon Panel of Ocean Experts - CEOs to activists

Today, a unique panel of business, government, conservation and academic leaders convened by the Global Partnership for the Oceans (GPO) has agreed on a global strategy for aligning ocean health and human wellbeing. USAID is a founding donor partner in the 140+ member Global Partnership for Oceans – a partnership committed to working together to solve the critical issues affecting the health of our oceans. 

The Blue Ribbon Panel, which includes 21 global experts from 16 countries, emphasizes that without action to turn around the declining health of the ocean, the consequences for economies, communities and ecosystems will be irreversible. But there is good news: solutions exist that benefit both oceans and economies, according to the Blue Ribbon Panel’s report, Indispensable Ocean.

According to the panel, fragmented approaches that fail to consider social, political, economic and ecological relationships will fail to meet the complex challenges facing ocean health. The report calls for an integrated approach to ocean investment and emphasizes the essential role of public private partnerships.

The panel agreed that the Global Partnership for Oceans is a platform that brings together the multistakeholder support, technical expertise and finance needed to change the course on oceans.

The panel did not identify a “silver bullet” to resolving urgent ocean challenges. Instead, it proposes five principles to ensure effective GPO investments: (1) sustainable livelihoods, social equity and food security; (2) a healthy ocean; (3) effective governance systems; (4) longterm viability and (5) capacity building and innovation.

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