Blue Solutions reaches interim goals for SDG 14

The marine protection project will present a series of new voluntary commitments once its interim targets have been met.

For the occasion of the first UN Ocean Conference in 2017, the UN called on public and private actors to present their voluntary commitments to achieve SDG 14 (Sustainable Development for the Protection of Seas and Coasts) on an online platform.  

In 2017, the IKI project Blue Solutions presented four voluntary commitments. The objective: Healthy oceans and the well-being of coastal populations. As part of the marine and coastal community, the project has fulfilled all commitments with the following contributions:

Blue Integrating Ecosystem Services (IES): Worldwide training courses were offered around integrating ecosystem services into marine & coastal development planning. More than five international implementing organizations that are actively engaged in capacity development have integrated the Blue IES course into their portfolio. The training material has also been translated and applied in French.

Blue Planning in Practice (BPiP): Worldwide MSP training was offered to enable ecosystem-based marine and coastal planning and management. The BPiP training has been acknowledged and integrated in the portfolio of multiple international organizations. The training is continuously conducted by Blue Solutions and other projects that have adopted it. The training material has been translated and applied in several languages.

Blue Solutions for a Healthy Planet: Our initiative has produced and promoted multiple technical webinars and trainings on ocean management and marine and coastal spatial planning for decision makers and conservation practitioners. Blue Solutions is the coordinator of the marine and coastal thematic community on the online knowledge sharing platform of PANORAMA Solutions.

Encouraging exchange of experiences and lessons learned regarding the sustainable management and use of marine and coastal resources: Solutions are documented and published in various formats for further replication of best practices. Blue Solutions organized international and regional knowledge sharing workshops, such as the Blue Solutions Fair in Thailand in 2018, where participants shared their success stories on conservation and marine management.

Blue Solutions sets itself new goals

Let's dare to take a look ahead: This year, on the occasion of the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June, it would have been time for the Ocean Community to draw an intermediate conclusion and declare new voluntary commitments. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned UN Ocean Conference 2020 was postponed and will probably take place in 2021.

Regardless of the postponement, Blue Solutions is presenting a series of new voluntary commitments. In addition to the international exchange of knowledge via the PANORAMA Solutions platform, the voluntary commitments will have an even stronger focus on local implementation and circulation of blue solutions in selected partner countries. Apart from new voluntary commitments, Blue Solutions will continue to stay active through the online presence and our activities in the marine community and look forward to the launch of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).