The ocean powers the world systems that make Earth a lifeable place for humans. Our rain, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe are provided and regulated by the sea.
Universities must care for life below the sea by carefully managing this essential global resource as it is key to a sustainable future. Marine and coastal ecosystems must be protected, reducing marine pollution and ocean acidification, ending unsustainable and illegal fishing practices, promoting scientific research in marine technology, fostering the growth of developing island states, and artisanal fishermen and promote and reinforce international law relating to oceans and seas.