The booming ocean economy sustains hundreds of millions of people, but it is being squeezed dry by overfishing, pollution, climate change and waste, UN economists warned on Monday, in a call for smarter, more concerted action to protect the world's vast marine spaces for future generations.
In the run-up to the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in June, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD , emphasised that oceans are essential to all life, by sustaining biodiversity, regulating the climate and generating oxygen.
Oceans also have massive untapped economic potential that is capable of delivering food security, creating jobs and driving global trade.
"The amount of exports of ocean goods and services reached $2.2 trillion in 2023, so it's growing very fast," said David Vivas, UNCTAD Chief for Trade, Environment and the Sustainable Development Branch, on the sidelines of the 5th UN Ocean Forum in Geneva.
According to the UN agency, the world's ocean economies have grown 250 per cent since 1995, far outpacing the global economy, which grew by 190 per cent over the same period.
