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Your Excellency Secretary General of the Commonwealth,
Honourable Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my privilege and honour to welcome you to the Inaugural Session of Ministers for Oceans of the Commonwealth States, here in the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, according to legend, which is located on the beautiful coastline of Cyprus nearby. I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to all of you who have come here today to share experiences and progress towards our common goals and to present our principles, priorities and action to shape the future of ocean governance within the Commonwealth. We strongly believe that Commonwealth States can work together collectively, recognising our 'Resilient Common Ocean' and continue the momentum towards shaping the Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, an important shared commitment to achieving a healthy and sustainable ocean.
Throughout human history, our survival and prosperity have been tied to the course of the oceans, which are the source of life for all species on Earth and support the richest biodiversity. In addition, millions of people depend directly on marine biodiversity and marine resources for their livelihoods. The oceans have been an important source of food since prehistoric times and have supported our survival and well-being for thousands of years through fisheries, aquaculture, transport, tourism, recreation and more.
However, all these benefits provided by our seas and oceans are threatened by our human activities.
Your Excellencies,
The Mediterranean Sea, where Cyprus is located, is home to a wide range of unique and diverse marine life and is considered one of the 25 recognised centres of global biodiversity. Being a semi-enclosed sea, the Mediterranean is home to more than 17,000 marine species and is characterized by the highest endemism rate in the world with 20-30% endemic species.
The conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity enhances sustainable development in the region and is essential for maintaining healthy and productive ecosystems for present and future generations. Today, the Mediterranean faces multiple challenges due to the unprecedented loss of biodiversity caused by overfishing, habitat destruction, intense urbanisation and tourism, overexploitation of resources, maritime transport, pollution and climate change. The Mediterranean is also particularly vulnerable to the introduction of non-native marine species, several of which are classified as invasive and cause significant problems for endemic species and habitats.
The protection of our seas and oceans can only be achieved through global and regional cooperation. At the international level, the Convention on Biological Diversity provides the necessary tools to create marine protected areas to achieve the protection of 30% of the ocean. Alongside this international process, there are a number of regional initiatives stemming from regional conventions or institutions, such as the European Union. For example, in the Mediterranean, Specially Protected Areas are being created under the Barcelona Convention, while the European acquis provides for the creation of a Natura 2000 network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
To this end, Cyprus is implementing various actions to reverse the loss and degradation of biodiversity and ensure the protection of vital ecosystems through the creation of MPAs, which is both promising and challenging. Sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems, including enhancing their resilience, is critical to avoid significant negative impacts and to achieve healthy and productive oceans. To this end, we have designated marine areas under various protection regimes, including offshore MPAs, achieving around 19% of the protection of our marine waters, including our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and contributing significantly to the 30 x 30 target. We have set fishing and marine restrictions in some MPAs to help fish stocks recover and protect endangered flagship species such as sea turtles (Chelonia mydas & Caretta caretta) and the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus.
It is well known that fish stocks in the Mediterranean have been declining for decades. 75% of the Mediterranean and Black Sea stocks for which validated assessments exist are fished at biologically unsustainable levels and, despite recent efforts, the situation is not improving. Immediate measures and actions need to be taken to reverse the decline in stocks and ensure the sustainability of the fisheries sector in the Mediterranean Sea.
Finally, the seas and oceans are still largely unexplored and many knowledge gaps about marine processes and the impact of human activities on the complex marine ecosystem need to be addressed. There is a need to deepen our knowledge in order to provide the scientific basis for their effective protection. A major challenge in the coming years will be to improve and enrich our scientific knowledge.
As part of this challenge, Cyprus has implemented research studies on seabed mapping, with a particular focus on mapping sensitive habitats such as seagrass beds and other important marine habitats throughout our coastal waters. In addition, a high-resolution mapping survey was carried out in deep waters, specifically in the submarine Mount Eratosthenes in the Cypriot EEZ, in order to identify the possible presence of sensitive habitats. All these important data obtained are vital to our strategy for the protection of marine biodiversity and essential for integrated ecosystem-based management.
Your Excellencies,
I believe that our shared vision for sustainable oceans can be achieved through building strong commitments and sustained coordinated actions for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity and marine resources. Our future depends on our ambitions, our commitments to a shared vision, to build the foundations for our first Commonwealth Declaration on Oceans and to lay the roadmap from Cyprus to Samoa for our resilient shared oceans.
Thank you for your attention!
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