MESSAGE
of
HON. TEODORO L. LOCSIN, JR.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
World Oceans Day 2022
“Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean”
08 June 2022
Today’s global commemoration of World Oceans Day has never been more timely; and every succeeding commemoration will be more so until it is moot to commemorate the oceans when they have turned toxic and start to evaporate. Since the first UN World Oceans Day in 2009, humanity — no, definitely not humanity, but humanity’s leaders have been warned of the dire fate our oceans face because of a global scale reckless disregard for the obvious consequences. To the gross irresponsibility and greed of the Industrialized West which continues to this day, add the equally gross irresponsibility of the vastly bigger industrialization of the East. Finally, West and East have achieved parity in the work of destroying the planet.
For many Filipinos, the sea is livelihood and life; for all Filipinos as a nation, it is our definition as such. We are a people of water. We are a maritime and archipelagic country, with more than half our population living and making a living in coastal zones. The threat of the loss of the oceans and its bounties are not just existential in the broad sense; rather they are day-to-day crises that spell out how much of a decent life is at all possible. The oceans define our identity; in the imagination of our ancestors, death is embarkation on the last boat; the afterlife is a journey across the seas. We are Filipinos; the journey by itself is destination and destiny. It shows in massive numbers in the Filipino diaspora around the world.
Never has the theme been as relevant as this year’s: “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean”.
We are witnessing unprecedented, barely understood threats to the oceans: climate change and global warming, overfishing by the rich and greedy; microplastics and mismanaged coastal development. Regional disputes also impact the world’s oceans, with artificial island-building and drilling activities devastating coral reefs and pushing marine ecosystems over the brink.
Our response to this call for collective action is clear. SDG 14 tells us to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.” To this end, we must stop the scourge of marine plastic pollution, protect marine biodiversity especially in areas beyond national jurisdiction. We conveniently interpret that as outside our respective responsibilities. Therefore, none need feel responsible.
But we are responsible — for what’s ours and what’s not anyone else’s. Oceans and seas wash over each other in their marine life-giving role; they are the only frontiers without borders.
Let us all reaffirm our respect and common commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, whose 40th anniversary we mark this year. As my President Rodrigo Duterte said, “Just because a body of water is named after us, does not mean it is ours only.