World Oceans Day
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- Related Topics:
- marine ecosystem
- ocean
- June
World Oceans Day, annual celebration honouring the majesty of Earth’s oceans and the economic, aesthetic, and environmental services they provide. World Oceans Day is celebrated yearly on June 8 to raise awareness of the plight of the oceans and the marine ecosystems they contain.
In 1992 in Rio de Janeiro the Canadian delegation attending the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development first proposed the idea of a day to honour the oceans; however, it was not until 1998 that the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO voiced support for an official international celebration. In 2002 two conservation organizations, the World Ocean Network and The Ocean Project, first celebrated the day along with their network of zoos, aquariums, and environmental groups around the world. After a petitioning drive guided in large part by those two organizations, the General Assembly of the United Nations formally designated World Oceans Day in 2008.
The international observance of World Oceans Day includes the delivery of an annual message by the secretary-general of the United Nations highlighting the challenges faced by the oceans and marine ecosystems. Local events vary by region but often include seminars and discussions highlighting ocean-related science topics and stewardship, ocean-themed children’s activities and film festivals, planting and waste-collection drives, and the opening of ocean-themed exhibitions in zoos, aquariums, universities, and other institutions.