2017 United Nations Ocean Conference~Plenary~

New York, USA

For years, The Nippon Foundation has been working to make the world’s oceans sustainable. And as chairman, I have been advocating for more collective global action for sustainable ocean governance. But current efforts have not been sufficient to effectively address the crises affecting our oceans today.

In year 2015, at the 29th Assembly for the International Maritime Organization, I said, “To address the diverse challenges that confront our oceans, we need a new framework that takes a holistic approach to global ocean governance”.

And today, I am making a more concrete proposal to the United Nations: the establishment of an Intergovernmental Panel on Ocean Governance. The panel will be positioned to report through the UN Secretary-General to the UN General Assembly. The panel will seek advice of experts from various disciplines, propose decisive actions for ocean sustainability, and coordinate efforts of various agencies, governments, and other stakeholders for greater collective impact.

In conjunction to this proposal, I also propose the creation of an Ocean Governance Trust Fund, which will support the establishment and operation of the Panel.

Our oceans are in a critical state, largely as a result of human activities and human decisions. Let us take firm action for our oceans and our future.

With your support, we, The Nippon Foundation pledge our full commitment in making the Intergovernmental Panel on Ocean Governance a reality.