This event, moderated by Kerstin Stendahl, Finnish Ministry of the Environment, addressed current stresses on water resources and how to improve global action to tackle the diverse challenges.

Ida Auken, Danish Minister for the Environment, underscored the importance of setting water goals, and suggested a new global goal on water that will ensure universal access to drinking water and basic sanitation, and guarantee sustainable water use through integrated water resource management and increased resource efficiency.

Paula Caballero, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia, warned against dismissing the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs) as purely environmental, stressing that water represents one of its building blocks.

Ambassador Csaba Körösi, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN, listed the outcomes of good water stewardship, inter alia: access to safe drinking water and sanitation; improved water recycling practices; improvement of sanitation and waste water treatment infrastructure; integrated water use practices; participatory decision making processes; and well-regulated transboundary water management.

Selim Jahan, UN Development Programme, stressed the importance of content, context and continuity when developing water management goals and urged using the lessons learnt from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a framework.

Participants also discussed: the launch of other water initiatives; the linkages and trade-offs with energy and food security; water use reduction in other sectors; and the lack of water quality monitoring.

Moderated by Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council, this event discussed the most pressing issues that are endangering oceans, and addressed methods to implement potential solutions.

Julian Barbiere, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), cited ocean acidification as an important issue to address when protecting the future of oceans and seas. Lamenting the paucity of scientific assessments of ocean acidification, he stressed the need to improve knowledge and science.

Carrie Brownstein, Whole Foods Market, highlighted Whole Foods Market’s move to retailing in a more sustainable manner, including: selling products from Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries; selling fish that is rated as sustainable by institutions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium through its Seafood Watch Programme; and the establishment of criteria and requirements for aquaculture farms within its supply chain.

Fabien Cousteau, Filmmaker and Oceanographic Explorer, stressed the urgency to reverse the decline of the ocean ecosystem. Noting that 70% of global food intake is directly or indirectly from oceans, he emphasized that through collaboration using both top-down and bottom-up approaches, progress can be made.

Paul Greenberg, Author of “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food,” lamenting the vulnerability of high seas to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, called for improved monitoring and governance of catches, for both near-shore and high seas fishing, to ensure that catches are legal.

Mark Kurlansky, Author of “Cod” and “The World without Fish,” said the quantity and quality of fish are getting worse. Noting that the entire marine ecosystem is under threat, he cautioned that if one species is lost, it places the rest of the ecosystem at risk.

Ray Menell, Fisherman, said that to ensure the success of marine protected areas, fishermen need to be involved in their establishment and be considered as part of the solution. He emphasized the importance of education to ensure the future of marine ecosystems.

In the ensuing discussion, participants addressed: coastal erosion; coastal ecosystem resilience; ecotourism and ecofarming; engaging local communities in resilience and other projects; pesticides and other wastes; the role of wetlands in ocean conservation; fish waste in a retail environment; and the use of exotic species in aquaculture.