Among other dangers to which seas and oceans are exposed due to climate change and human actions. Also with extreme temperatures, plastic pollution, and coral bleaching were crucial issues in 2025.
The UN warns all nations that the most extensive coral bleaching event in history is underway. Devastating the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Pacific, an event it describes as “a planetary collapse.”
It warns that this collapse could have cascading effects on biodiversity, food security, and climate resilience. Beyond this damage, according to UN data, the ocean continues to absorb more than 90 percent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions.
It also estimates that 60 percent of the world’s marine ecosystems have been degraded or are being used unsustainably. The global body emphasizes that the crisis is not a distant threat: it is happening now.
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet and plays a vital role in regulating life on Earth. Producing half of our oxygen and protecting against extreme weather.
Furthermore, it generates at least half of the planet’s oxygen, harbors most of Earth’s biodiversity, and is the primary source of protein for more than a billion people worldwide. Despite its recognized value, the UN states that it continues to suffer from a chronic lack of funding.
It affirms that Sustainable Development Goal 14, on “Life Below Water,” receives the fewest resources of the 17 UN global goals that member states agreed to achieve by 2030.
Globally, almost two-thirds of the oceans are waters beyond national jurisdiction. Currently only one percent of this vast area is protected.
But among the advances in recent years to protect this treasure of life is the ratification last September of a global agreement to protect the seas. With sufficient support from nations for it to enter into force later.
Thus, the so-called High Seas Treaty commits to allocating 30 percent of these waters to Marine Protected Areas. Dedicated primarily to the protection of habitats, species, and healthy marine ecosystems.
With information from Prensa Latina
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