The Ocean, a Global Public Good and a Challenge for Mankind

Robert CALCAGNO * Chief Executive Officer, Oceanographic Institute, Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco. Contact: a.bardy@oceano.org.

In recent decades, the Ocean has become an object of conquest. Not only is it subject to major pressures - overexploitation of certain resources, pollution, climate change - but the status of this vast expanse is changing at an accelerating pace. Today, based on existing international conventions, around 36% of the ocean's surface is under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of a coastal state. This means that the remaining 64% is in international waters with few or no rules. The administrative limits defined by treaties have no physical or biological reality and the Ocean provides numerous services to populations, the climate, and the economy, which it is important to preserve in a context of climate crisis. Much remains to be done to protect biodiversity, combat overfishing, and the proliferation of plastic waste.

We know planet Earth, but we urgently need to turn our attention to the world beneath the waves – the planet of the sea.The ocean has always represented a realm of freedom, dreams, tales, and limitless, fantastical resources. From Homer to Jules Verne, the sea has been a recurring theme in literature, and at times, in scientific exploration. Prince Albert I, a great explorer, wrote in one of his books entitled La carrière d'un navigateur: “During my career as a navigator, I obtained from the sea a few confessions about the laws that determine its role among the forces of the world, or that propagate life to the depths of the abysses.” One didn't own the sea, one sang it; one didn't buy it, one sailed it. It facilitated international travel and, most importantly, enabled the exploration and conquest of new territories.In recent decades,…