Where We Are
The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is intrinsic to life on Earth, providing key natural resources including food and medicine. The ocean produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen and is home to a million known species. The ocean is also key to the trade and the economy, with an estimated 40 million people employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.
But the ocean is in crisis. It is under threat from climate change, pollution and overfishing.
Sustainable Development Goal 14 (life below water) remains one of the most underfunded of the 17 Goals. While global action is underway, increased commitment and collaboration across sectors are urgently needed to address the mounting concerns impacting the ocean.
SDG 14 in Numbers
- 7% of fish stocks are now over-exploited, up from 10% in 1974, leaving only 62.3% within biologically sustainable levels.
- 18,200 Marine Protected Areas cover 8.12 % of the ocean — progress, but still short of the 10% SDG target and 30% Kunming-Montreal ambition.
- Over 90% of the ocean experienced heat-wave conditions in 2023, triggering the fourth recorded global coral-bleaching event.
- About 17 million tons of plastic enter the sea each year; without drastic action this could double or triple by 2040.
“We must invest massively in science, conservation, and the sustainable blue economy – and extend far greater support to coastal communities, Indigenous Peoples and Small Island Developing States already bearing the brunt of climate change.
And we must protect marine biodiversity, reject practices that inflict irreversible damage, and deliver on the promise of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement.”
– António Guterres, UN Secretary-General (8 June 2025, World Oceans Day)
