WORLD OCEANS DAY 2024 MESSAGE BY JAMES ALIX MICHEL
08 June, 2024

Today, I join fellow citizens of the World to pay homage to the largest ecosystem on Earth: The Ocean. This years’ WorldOceanDay Theme is ‘Wonder: Sustaining what sustains us’, highlighting that the Ocean is to be cherished not simply for what it can add to a balance sheet but for what it is. In all respects, the ocean is awe-inspiring with its beauty, mystery and the vast diversity of marine life it supports. It is also our life support system, critical for our survival, and it must thrive for us to survive – a healthy Ocean is a healthy you. 

#Sustainability is, for me, a non-negotiable principle, and most people would seem to agree with this. The very notion of sustainability shows the interconnectedness of living things and the need for responsible stewardship of our planet. And yet, sustainability must go further to include regeneration to manifest a thriving and flourishing living system – it is essential! 

The Ocean has an extremely important role in all our lives, and we all need to be mindful of the dangers it is facing. Without sustainability, protection and regeneration efforts, the Ocean faces severe degradation and the loss of critical functions. If it cannot sustain us, humanity will face drastic consequences, including food insecurity, climate destabilisation, and the potential for widespread ecological collapse. 

“We all have a responsibility to care for what we have inherited and to pass it on to future generations. It is not acceptable to passively witness the disappearance of the dugong, or the wanton removal of #mangroves and #seagrass. Everything has a place in the universe, sometimes for very practical reasons – like providing coastal protection – and sometimes for the more abstract notion that every loss, no matter how small, takes something essential away from the whole.”