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Under the theme “The Living Ocean and Coast:
Diversity of Resources and Sustainable
Activities” Expo Yeosu 2012 is being held
exactly 10 years after the United Nation’s
World Summit on Sustainable Development – an
initiative which promised major governmental
commitment to expand access to safe water,
proper sanitation and modern, clean energy
services, as well as to reverse the decline
of ecosystems by restoring fisheries,
curtailing illegal logging and limiting the
harm caused by toxic chemicals.
Taking up the mantle of the 2002
Johannesburg Summit, it is appropriate that
Expo Yeosu 2012 puts water and marine life
firmly on the global agenda once more – and
that it deals with sustainable development
for what it is - the integration of
economic, social and environmental
considerations.
Occupying 71 per cent of the Earth's surface
and home to more than 10 million species,
the sea accounts for approximately 90 per
cent of all life on earth. With around 40
per cent of the world's population living in
coastal areas and within 60 kilometers from
the coastline, our oceans and coasts have
always played an integral role for life on
Earth and indeed for human civilization;
their presence, influence and even control
over human activities are ubiquitous and
indispensable.
Indeed, for those living along Oman’s
1,700km-long coastline, fishing has been a
traditional livelihood, supporting with
agriculture nearly 80 per cent of the
sultanate’s population before the discovery
of oil.
Oman has a rich maritime history and today
our fishing industry employs 30,000 people
and as the sector matures will make a
significant contribution to the sultanate’s
economy – creating jobs and commercial
opportunities for thousands of our citizens.
Our life as a nation has long been entwined
with the sea and we are acutely aware that
years of human activities in the oceans and
coasts have taken their toll. We stand
witness to the global issues of overfishing,
industrial pollution and reckless
development of coastal regions. Damage to
marine ecosystem, global warming and natural
disasters are not limited to a particular
country or region and will have far-reaching
implications not just today but for future
generations.
Seen together with the effects of climate
change, with which it is closely
interlinked, the deterioration of the
planet’s ecosystems and the corrosion of our
marine life and coastal environments
represent a global emergency – an emergency
with broad implications that requires
significant, urgent and bold measures.
The issue of marine and coastal preservation
is of critical importance to the people of
Oman, and it is our firm belief that the
international community must come together
in order to build consensus on the actions
to be taken – this is at the very heart of
Expo Yeosu 2012’s message and Oman’s
participation at this seminal global event.
It is our great hope and desire that Expo
Yeosu 2012 helps rekindle the will and
commitment of governments and business
across the world to halt the devastating
marine biodiversity loss we are witnessing
today and restore degraded marine habitats
for the benefit of all mankind.
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