EU to Launch Ocean Tracker

The European Union (EU) is set to launch a new interactive map, dubbed The Ocean Tracker, to follow the commitments, made by governments, businesses and NGOs, worth more than €10 billion ($11.13bn) so far.

EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries said: "With the delivery of The Ocean Tracker, the EU demonstrates its leadership in ocean sustainability”.

The Ocean tracker, itself a commitment made in 2017, when the EU hosted the Our Ocean in Malta, will make sure that the progress of all pledges is clear to see.

EU also announced 22 new commitments at the 2019 edition of Our Ocean conference, for better governance of the oceans.

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, said: “Oceans are not only our common wealth, but our future.  It is our responsibility to ensure that they are healthy and protected worldwide. In our future partnership with ACP countries, we will continue acting as an international driving force by championing sustainable management of marine resources, while fostering blue economy and opportunities to improve people's lives”.

These EU commitments are meaningful actions to strengthen ocean governance, in particular with regard to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and more specifically, the Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The EU pledges include projects to tackle plastic pollution, make blue economy more sustainable and improve research and maritime surveillance.

The 22 EU commitments consist of concrete and targeted action with a total budget of almost EUR540 million to tackle key ocean challenges such as the impact of climate change, strengthen our knowledge base, drive innovation and to promote the development of the sustainable blue economy within and beyond Europe.