Architectes à la dérive : plancton, climat et course contre l’oubli

French News
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Architectes à la dérive : plancton, climat et course contre l’oubli

Par un matin éclatant au large de Villefranche-sur-Mer, le Sagitta III fend les eaux turquoises de la Méditerranée, longeant les pontons et terrasses bordées de pins de la Côte d’Azur. Ce bateau scientifique de douze mètres – baptisé du nom d’un zooplancton redoutable à la tête crochue – se dirige vers une bouée jaune solitaire, oscillant au large.

Au loin, la ville balnéaire scintille, mirage de villas pastel et de clochers accrochés aux falaises. Mais à bord du Sagitta III, la romance s’arrête au bastingage. Lionel Guidi, chercheur au Laboratoire d’océanographie de Villefranche – le LOV, pour les intimes – scrute la mer d’un regard affûté.

Il est là pour pêcher du plancton.

Autour de lui, l’équipage expérimenté s’active, sous la férule du capitaine Jean-Yves Carval. « Le plancton, c’est fragile », avertit ce marin brut de décoffrage, qui a passé près d’un demi-siècle à piloter cargos, chalutiers – et désormais navires scientifiques. « Si tu vas trop vite, tu fais de la compote ».

Le bateau ralentit à l’approche de la bouée, site de prélèvement quotidien pour M. Guidi et ses collègues du LOV depuis des décennies. Sur le pont, Christophe Kieger, chef mécanicien barbu, prépare le treuil. Son câble de 3.600 mètres déroule lentement un filet aux mailles si fines qu’un grain de sel marin aurait du mal à y passer. Il s’enfonce jusqu’à 75 mètres de profondeur.

Quelques minutes plus tard, le filet remonte, lourd d’une matière brunâtre et gélatineuse.

« Il y a de la vie ! » s’exclame Anthéa Bourhis, une jeune technicienne de laboratoire originaire de Bretagne, en versant délicatement le contenu dans un seau en plastique.

Plus qu’un simple mélange d’eau de mer et de vase, cette récolte contient en réalité les archives vivantes du passé de la planète – et peut-être la clé de son avenir.

Lionel Guidi, 44 ans, chercheur en plancton au Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, dit LOV (IMEV-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, Sorbonne Université-CNRS).

Une tendance inquiétante

Le plancton est le cœur battant du moteur océanique. Ces organismes minuscules absorbent le dioxyde de carbone, relâchent de l’oxygène, et soutiennent toute la chaîne alimentaire marine. Sans eux, la vie telle que nous la connaissons ne serait pas possible.

Mais qu’est-ce que le plancton, au juste ?

Ce n’est pas une espèce, mais une myriade de créatures nomades liées par une caractéristique : leur incapacité à nager à contre-courant. Elles dérivent au gré des marées et des tourbillons, portées par des flux invisibles qui dictent leur existence. Certaines sont plus petites qu’un grain de poussière ; d’autres, comme les méduses, peuvent dépasser un mètre.

On distingue deux grandes familles. Le phytoplancton, végétal microscopique, capte la lumière du soleil et, au fil du temps, a produit plus de la moitié de l’oxygène que nous respirons. Le zooplancton, quant à lui, est animal : souvent minuscule, parfois visible à l’œil nu, il se nourrit de ses cousins végétaux, chasse, et finit lui-même en proie – nourrissant poissons, baleines et oiseaux marins.

Au LOV, les chercheurs étudient ces organismes depuis des décennies. Leurs prélèvements quotidiens, réalisés à quelques milles des côtes, constituent l’une des séries d’observation planctonique les plus anciennes au monde.

Et ces relevés manifestent une évolution inquiétante.

sur le point qu’on est allé échantillonner ce matin depuis sur les 50 dernières années, il y a eu une hausse d’à peu près 1,5° de la température à 10 mètres de profondeur. Donc ça c’est un changement physique qui est relié au changement climatique. On a par exemple vu que, de façon générale, on a moins de production primaire de phytoplancton. Ça, c’est le début de la base de la chaîne alimentaire, de la chaîne du réseau trophique. 

« Sur notre site d’observation, sur les 50 dernières années, il y a eu une hausse d’à peu près 1,5° de la température à 10 mètres de profondeur », explique Lionel Guidi à ONU Info. « Et nous observons, de façon générale, moins de production primaire de phytoplancton ».

Les conséquences potentielles peuvent être considérables. Si le phytoplancton décline, c’est toute la chaîne marine qui vacille – du zooplancton aux stocks de poissons, jusqu’à la biodiversité océanique. Sa capacité à séquestrer le CO₂ en profondeur, par la « pompe biologique » – l’un des grands régulateurs naturels du climat – pourrait aussi s’en trouver affectée.

Phronima, un zooplancton abyssal, a inspiré le design de la créature du film « Alien », de 1979.

Aliens microscopiques

De retour à terre, dans les locaux du LOV, Lionel Guidi désigne l’échantillon du jour : « Tout commence par le plancton », affirme le chercheur, passé par le Texas et Hawaï avant de s’installer à Villefranche.

Anthéa Bourhis, la technicienne de laboratoire, à enfilé une blouse blanche. Elle s’affaire sur le prélèvement de zooplancton, qu’elle plonge dans du formol – une étape mortelle mais nécessaire : « S’ils bougent, ça fausse le scan », explique-t-elle.

Une fois figés, les minuscules animaux sont introduits dans un scanner digital. Peu à peu, des formes émergent à l’écran : des copépodes gracieux, translucides et aux antennes plumeuses, apparaissent comme suspendus dans l’eau.

« Il y a de très belles choses, là », lance Mme Bourhis en souriant.

Elle transfère les images dans une base de données dotée d’une intelligence artificielle capable de classer les zooplanctons par groupe, famille et espèce.

« Ils ont des appendices partout, des bras dans tous les sens », note M. Guidi. « Il y a des trucs qui, vus en gros, font très peur ». Un spécimen abyssal, la phronime, a même inspiré la créature d’« Alien », le film de Ridley Scott.

Anthéa Bourhis, 28 ans, technicienne au Laboratoire d’océanographie de Villefranche, dit LOV, verse la pêche du matin dans un scanner pour produire une image numérique du zooplancton.

De la science à la politique

Le monde du plancton est en mutation — mais à un rythme trop lent pour être capté par des instantanés. C’est là que les séries d’observation de longue durée menées par le LOV prennent tout leur sens : elles permettent de distinguer les cycles naturels des bouleversements liés au climat.

« Quand on leur explique qu’à partir du moment où il n’y a plus de plancton, il y a plus de vie dans l’océan. Et quand il y a plus de vie dans l’océan, la vie terrestre ne dure pas longtemps, là d’un seul coup les gens sont vachement plus intéressés », confie Jean-Olivier Irisson, également spécialiste du plancton au LOV.

La semaine prochaine, à une quinzaine de kilomètres à l’est, Nice accueillera la troisième Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’océan (UNOC3) – un sommet de cinq jours réunissant scientifiques, diplomates, activistes et acteurs du secteur privé pour redessiner l’avenir marin.

Parmi les priorités : faire avancer l’objectif « 30×30 » (protéger 30 % de l’océan d’ici 2030), et accélérer la ratification du traité historique sur la haute mer, ou accord BBNJ, visant à protéger la vie au-delà des eaux territoriales.

M. Guidi insiste sur l’urgence de ces efforts pilotés par l’ONU : « Tout cela doit être pensé avec des gens capables de faire les lois, mais sur la base du raisonnement scientifique ».

Lui ne prétend pas écrire les lois. Mais il sait où la science intervient. « On transmet des résultats. Ce ne sont pas des opinions, ce sont des faits ».

Et à Villefranche, Lionel Guidi, Anthéa Bourhis et le capitaine Carval poursuivent leur mission : extraire la vie de la mer, l’immortaliser en pixels et partager ses données avec le monde. Se faisant, ils dessinent les contours d’un océan en péril – et révèlent les fils invisibles qui maintiennent l’équilibre du vivant.

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).

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Drifting architects: Plankton, climate, and the race to understand our changing ocean

Science News
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Drifting architects: Plankton, climate, and the race to understand our changing ocean

On a sun-drenched morning off the coast of Villefranche-sur-Mer, the Sagitta III cuts through the cobalt waters of the Mediterranean, past the quiet marinas and pine-fringed terraces of France’s Côte d’Azur. The 40-foot scientific vessel – named after a fearsome zooplankton with hook-lined jaws – rumbles toward a lonely yellow buoy bobbing offshore.

In the distance, the resort town shimmers, a mirage of pastel villas and church towers clinging to the cliffs. But aboard the Sagitta III, the romance ends at the rail. Lionel Guidi, a local scientist at the Villefranche Oceanography Lab — known, with fitting Frenchness, by its acronym LOV — peers into the sea with a practiced intensity.

He is here to fish plankton.

“There’s life!” cries marine technician Anthéa Bourhis

Around him, a veteran crew moves with precision, under the iron fist of Captain Jean-Yves Carval. “Plankton is fragile,” cautions the rugged seaman, who’s spent nearly 50 years navigating freighters, trawlers – and now, scientific boats. “If you go too fast, you make compote.”

The craft slows as it reaches the buoy, a sampling site where Guidi and his LOV colleagues have gathered marine data every day for decades. Below deck, the boat’s bearded chief mechanic, Christophe Kieger, readies a large winch. Its 12,000-foot cable unfurls, sending a fine-meshed net – each pore no wider than a grain of salt – drifting toward the deep. Slowly, it sinks to 250 feet.

Minutes later, the net resurfaced, heavy with a brownish, gelatinous goo.

“There’s life!” cries Anthéa Bourhis, a 28-year-old technician from Brittany, as she carefully transfers the contents into a plastic bucket.

Indeed, that catch holds more than seawater and slime. It is the raw material of the planet’s past – and perhaps its future.

Lionel Guidi, 44, a plankton-research scientist at the Villefranche Oceanography Lab, known as LOV (part of IMEV-Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, Sorbonne University-CNRS).

A worrisome trend

Plankton form the beating heart of the ocean’s engine. These tiny organisms absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and underpin the entire marine food web. Without them, life as we know it would not exist.

But what is plankton?

It’s not a single creature, but a vast cast of marine nomads, all bound by one trait: they can’t swim against the current. They drift with tides and eddies, riding invisible flows that govern their lives. Some are no bigger than a speck of dust; others, like jellyfish, can stretch more than a meter wide.

There are two main kinds. Those that harness sunlight: phytoplankton — microscopic marine plants that photosynthesize like greenery on land and, over geological time, have produced more than half the oxygen we breathe. And those that feed: zooplankton — tiny animals that graze on their plant-like cousins, hunt each other, and themselves become prey, sustaining fish, whales, and seabirds alike.

At the Villefranche Oceanography Lab, scientists have been tracking these creatures for decades. Their daily sampling, performed just a few miles offshore, has yielded one of the longest continuous records of plankton in the world.

And that record is now showing signs of stress.

“At our observation site, surface temperatures have risen by about 1.5 degrees Celsius over the last 50 years,” Lionel Guidi tells UN News. “We’ve seen a general drop in phytoplankton primary production.”

The consequences could potentially be far-reaching. Phytoplankton form the foundation of the marine ecosystem, and a decline in their numbers might trigger a cascading effect, disrupting zooplankton, fish stocks, and ocean biodiversity as a whole. It could also weaken their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, drawing it from the atmosphere and carrying it into the deep – what scientists call ‘the biological pump’, one of Earth’s most vital natural climate regulators.

Phronima, a deep-sea zooplankton, inspired the design of the creature in the 1979 film, “Alien.”

Tiny aliens

Back at the LOV, with the Sagitta III now resting in its berth, Lionel Guidi gestures toward the day’s sample. “Everything starts with plankton,” says the scientist, who, before landing in Villefranche, conducted marine research in Texas and Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Anthéa Bourhis, the young technician, has donned a white lab coat and is bent over the morning’s catch. She fixes the sample in formaldehyde, a step that will store the zooplankton but also kill them. “If they move, it messes with the scan,” she explains.

Once morbidly still, the small animals are fed into a scanner. Slowly, shapes blossom on Bourhis’s screen, as improbably graceful copepods – translucent and shrimp-like, with feathery antennae – float into view.

“You look through the microscope and there’s a whole world,” says plankton specialist Lionel Guidi

“We’ve got some good-looking ones,” she says, grinning.

She begins transferring the digital images into an AI-operated database capable of sorting zooplankton by group, family, and species. 

“They have appendages everywhere,” adds Lionel Guidi. “Arms pointing in all directions.”

One of these deep-sea creatures, called Phronima, even inspired the monster in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien. “You look through the microscope,” Guidi says, “and there’s a whole world.”

Anthéa Bourhis, 28, a lab technician at the Villefranche Oceanography Lab, known as LOV, pours the morning’s catch into a scanning machine to produce a digital image of the zooplankton.

From science to policy

A world that is changing – and not fast enough to be understood by satellites or snapshots. That’s why LOV’s long-term series matters: it captures trends that span years and even decades, helping scientists distinguish natural cycles from climate-driven shifts.

“When we explain that if there’s no more plankton, there’s no more life in the ocean. And if there’s no more life in the ocean, life on land won’t last much longer either, then suddenly people become a lot more interested in why protecting plankton matters,” said Jean-Olivier Irisson, another plankton specialist at the LOV.

Next week, just 15 minutes down the coast, the city of Nice is hosting the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) – a five-day summit bringing together scientists, diplomats, activists, and business leaders to chart the course for marine conservation.

Among the gathering’s priorities: advancing the ‘30 by 30’ pledge to protect 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030 and bringing the landmark High Seas Treaty, or ‘BBNJ accord’ to safeguard life in international waters, closer to ratification.

Guidi underscored the urgency of these UN-led efforts, saying: “All of this must be thought through with people who are capable of making laws, but based on scientific reasoning.”

He doesn’t claim to write policy himself. But he knows where science fits. “We convey scientific results; we have proof of a phenomenon. These are not opinions, they’re facts.”

And so, in Villefranche, Lionel Guidi, Anthéa Bourhis and Captain Carval continue their work – hauling life from the sea, capturing it in pixels, counting its limbs, and sharing its data with scientists across the globe. In doing so, they chart not just a threatened ocean, but the unseen threads that bind life itself.

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).

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Gaza: Women and girls struggle to manage their periods amid crisis

Global News
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Gaza: Women and girls struggle to manage their periods amid crisis

Globally, 1.8 billion people menstruate, yet for many, especially in crises zones, it’s far more than an inconvenience.

In war-torn Gaza, around 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age, including thousands experiencing their first period, face this challenge under relentless bombardment and in cramped, unsanitary conditions with little privacy.

A human rights issue

The United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, warns that the lack of access to menstrual products, clean water, and soap makes it nearly impossible for women and girls to manage their periods with dignity.

Since March, Israel’s aid blockade has depleted hygiene supplies in Gaza, including sanitary pads. The authorities temporarily lifted the ban last month and UN agencies were able to bring in limited amounts of items such as flour and medicine.

Since the end of May, aid is now being distributed through a system backed by the United States and Israel, bypassing the UN and other humanitarian agencies, but it falls far short of what is needed.

Nearly 90 per cent of the territory’s water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, and fuel for water pumping is no longer available.

Women stand in a damaged displacement settlement in Khan Younis, Gaza.

“I sat in silence crying”

Speaking to UNFPA, a young girl recalled getting her period while sheltering in a crowded displacement camp.

“I only had one pad, so I wrapped it in toilet paper to make it last. I couldn’t wash, and the pain was horrible. I sat in silence crying until the end of the day.”

As nine in 10 households face extreme water shortages, the lack of clean water, soap, and privacy has turned menstruation into a source of anxiety, isolation, and shame. “Sometimes I need pads and soap more than I need food,” said Aisha*, a displaced girl.

Desperate measures, dangerous consequences

With less than a quarter of the over 10 million sanitary pads needed each month available, women and girls are forced to improvise. Many use torn clothes, sponges, or old rags, often without proper cleaning.

“I tore my only shirt into pieces so my daughters could use them instead of pads,” shared a father of four displaced from Jabalia.

These makeshift solutions are not only painful and undignified, but they can also cause infections and long-term reproductive health issues. With the health system on the brink of collapse, thousands of women may go untreated.

The psychological burden is equally severe. “Every time my period comes, I wish I weren’t a girl,” said one of the girls.

Stripping away dignity

Speaking from a health care perspective, but also as a woman, a doctor in Gaza described treating women coping with menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth under horrifying conditions.

“These should be natural experiences, not sources of distress and pain. I see strength in women’s eyes, but I also see deep pain and the stripping away of dignity,” she said.

A woman and child walk through the rubble of Gaza.

In emergencies, women and girls are among the most vulnerable. According to UN agencies, they face heightened risks due to displacement and the breakdown of normal protection structures and support. They also face increased care-related tasks such as providing food and water.

“Food keeps us alive, but pads, soap, and privacy let us live with dignity,” said Maysa*, a displaced woman in Khan Younis. “When we receive hygiene kits, it feels like someone finally sees us.”

How UNFPA is responding

As a frontline responder, UNFPA is working to ensure menstrual health is integrated across humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Since October 2023, the agency has provided more than 300,000 women and girls with two-month supplies of disposable menstrual pads and distributed postpartum kits to over 12,000 new mothers.

Yet, three months into a total aid blockade, stocks were nearly exhausted. With border crossings closed, hygiene kits are no longer reaching those in need. The recent entry of some aid distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation included food, flour, medicine and nutrition support according to media reports.

The UN continues to call for urgent support for women and girls caught in some of the world’s most neglected crises.

*Names have been changed for protection.

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).

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A powerful planetary helper: Ocean phytoplankton |

Opinion and Commentary
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A powerful planetary helper: Ocean phytoplankton |

Ocean phytoplankton may be tiny, but their impact on the planet is enormous.

These microscopic organisms form the foundation of marine food chains and play a vital role in carbon sequestration and climate regulation.

At the UN Ocean Conference taking place on the French Riviera, UN News’s Fabrice Robinet spoke to Alexandra Worden, a Boston native and plankton specialist at the world-renowned Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, who is working at the intersection of science, technology, and policy to better understand how nature-based solutions can support climate action.  

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).

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ONU celebra Dia Mundial dos Oceanos com apelo a governos do mundo

Portuguese News
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ONU celebra Dia Mundial dos Oceanos com apelo a governos do mundo

Este 8 de junho é o Dia Mundial dos Oceanos. Juntos, eles produzem pelo menos 50% do oxigênio do planeta.

Para o secretário-geral da ONU, António Guterres, a data serve para soar o alerta a governos em todo o mundo sobre fazer mais para proteger os mares. Os oceanos fornecem ar, alimentos, empregos e um clima do qual se depende.

A poluição plástica, no entanto, está acabando com cardumes, levando à perda de ecossistemas marinhos assim como ao aumento da temperatura que eleva o nível do mar.

Ocean Image Bank/Gaby Barathi

Recife de coral em Mayotte, um arquipélago no Oceano Índico entre Madagáscar e a costa de Moçambique

Comunidades costeiras e Estados litorâneos

Segundo a ONU, pelo menos 40 milhões de pessoas deverão ser empregadas na indústria oceânica até 2030.

Guterres defende investimentos massivos na ciência, na conservação e na economia azul sustentável além de ampliar o apoio às comunidades costeiras, pessoas indígenas e aos Pequenos Estados-Ilha, que já sofrem com as consequências da mudança climática.

Os mares absorvem 30% do carbono gerado por seres humanos sendo um grande aliado na luta contra as alterações do clima.

O secretário-geral lembra que é preciso proteger a biodiversidade marinha, rejeitando práticas que levaram a danos irreparáveis. A proposta de Guterres é de que os países cumpram as promessas previstas no Acordo de Biodiversidade Além da Jurisdição Nacional.

A Conferência dos Oceanos começa nesta segunda-feira, 9 de junho, em Nice, na França. Para a ONU, o evento será uma oportunidade de avançar com as prioridades e a renovar os compromissos coletivos de proteção dos oceanos.

Source of original article: United Nations / Nações Unidas (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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ONU celebra Dia Mundial dos Oceanos com apelo a governos do mundo

Portuguese News
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ONU celebra Dia Mundial dos Oceanos com apelo a governos do mundo

Em mensagem secretário-geral, António Guterres, falou da urgência de socorro aos mares tomados por plásticos que levam à perda de ecossistemas marinhos, de cardumes variados e ao aumento de temperaturas que elevam o nível do mar.

Source of original article: United Nations / Nações Unidas (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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Los océanos del mundo se están muriendo. ¿Puede una cumbre de la ONU en Niza cambiar la situación?

Spanish News
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Los océanos del mundo se están muriendo. ¿Puede una cumbre de la ONU en Niza cambiar la situación?

Del 9 al 13 de junio, la ciudad costera de Niza acogerá la Tercera Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Océanos (UNOC3), una cumbre de alto nivel copresidida por Francia y Costa Rica. Su misión: hacer frente a una creciente emergencia oceánica que, según advierten los científicos, se acerca a un punto de no retorno.

“El océano se enfrenta a una crisis sin precedentes debido al cambio climático, la contaminación por plásticos, la pérdida de ecosistemas y la sobreexplotación de los recursos marinos”, declaró a Noticias ONU Li Junhua, un alto funcionario de la ONU que actúa como Secretario General del evento.

“Esperamos que la conferencia inspire una ambición sin precedentes, asociaciones innovadoras y, tal vez, una sana competencia”, añadió, subrayando la necesidad de cooperación internacional para evitar daños irreversibles.

La presión está en marcha. La UNOC3 reúne a líderes mundiales, científicos, activistas y empresarios para hacer frente a la creciente crisis de los océanos.

El objetivo: desencadenar una oleada de compromisos voluntarios, forjar nuevas asociaciones y, si los organizadores lo consiguen, inyectar una dosis muy necesaria de responsabilidad en la lucha contra la degradación marina.

Las conversaciones, de una semana de duración, culminarán con la adopción de una declaración política y la presentación del Plan de Acción de Niza sobre los Océanos, un esfuerzo para hacer frente a la magnitud de la crisis, y acelerar las medidas de conservación y uso sostenible de los océanos.

Mares que se calientan, arrecifes que se blanquean

La crisis no es una amenaza lejana: está ocurriendo ahora. En abril, la temperatura de la superficie del mar alcanzó su segundo nivel más alto de la historia para ese mes, según el Servicio de Cambio Climático Copernicus de la Unión Europea.

Mientras tanto, se está produciendo la mayor decoloración de corales de la historia, que está arrasando el Caribe, el Océano Índico y partes del Pacífico. Más que un acontecimiento aislado, se trata de un desastre global.

Los arrecifes de coral, que albergan una cuarta parte de todas las especies marinas y sustentan miles de millones en turismo y pesca, están desapareciendo ante nuestros ojos. Su colapso podría desencadenar efectos en cascada sobre la biodiversidad, la seguridad alimentaria y la resistencia al cambio climático.

El daño es aún mayor. El océano sigue absorbiendo más del 90% del exceso de calor procedente de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, un servicio mundial que puede estar llegando a su límite.

“Retos como la contaminación por plásticos, la sobrepesca, la pérdida de biodiversidad, la acidificación de los océanos y el calentamiento están todos relacionados con el cambio climático”, advirtió Li.

Puntos de inflexión

No obstante, se han producido avances notables. En 2022, la Organización Mundial del Comercio alcanzó un acuerdo de gran alcance para eliminar gradualmente las subvenciones perjudiciales que alimentan la sobrepesca, ofreciendo un raro atisbo de resolución multilateral.

Al año siguiente, tras décadas de estancamiento, las naciones adoptaron el Tratado de Alta Mar, conocido por la abreviatura BBNJ, para salvaguardar la vida marina en aguas internacionales. Este acuerdo tan esperado está a punto de entrar en vigor en la cumbre de Niza.

Pero la política por sí sola no puede revertir un ecosistema en caída libre. “La respuesta mundial es insuficiente”, advirtió Li Junhua.

En otras palabras, los avances no sólo dependen de la voluntad política, sino también de los recursos necesarios.

Un salvavidas sin fondos

A pesar de su papel vital en la regulación de la vida en la Tierra, produciendo la mitad de nuestro oxígeno y amortiguando los extremos climáticos, el océano tiene  una falta de financiación crónica.

El Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible número 14, Vida bajo el agua, es el que recibe menos recursos de los 17 objetivos globales de la ONU que los Estados miembros acordaron cumplir para 2030.

El coste estimado para proteger y restaurar los ecosistemas marinos en los próximos cinco años es de 175.000 millones de dólares anuales. “Pero entre 2015 y 2019 se asignaron menos de 10.000 millones de dólares”, dijo Li, señalando la necesidad de que la financiación de los océanos pase del goteo al torrente.

Esta ambición constituye el núcleo de los objetivos de la Conferencia.

El Plan de Acción de Niza sobre los Océanos

El tema de la UNOC3, Acelerar la acción y movilizar a todos los agentes para conservar y utilizar sosteniblemente los océanos, refleja el paso de las declaraciones a los resultados.

A lo largo de cinco días, los participantes abordarán las grandes cuestiones: cómo poner freno a la pesca ilegal, reducir la contaminación por plásticos y ampliar las economías azules sostenibles. Se espera que cientos de nuevas promesas se basen en los más de 2000 compromisos voluntarios adquiridos desde la primera cumbre sobre los océanos de 2017.

El Plan de Acción de Niza sobre los Océanos se alineará con el Marco Global para la Biodiversidad de Kunming-Montreal, un acuerdo de 2022 que pide la protección de al menos el 30% de los ecosistemas marinos y terrestres para 2030.

Junto a los nuevos compromisos, el plan incluirá una declaración oficial, que Li describió como un documento político “conciso” y “orientado a la acción”.

“El proyecto de declaración política, liderado por Australia y Cabo Verde, se centra en la conservación de los océanos y las economías sostenibles basadas en ellos, e incluye medidas concretas para acelerar la acción”, declaró el funcionario de la ONU.

La crisis en cifras: lo que Niza espera conseguir

  • Hasta 12 millones de toneladas métricas de plástico entran en el océano cada año, el equivalente a un camión de basura cada minuto. En Niza, los delegados esperan avanzar en un acuerdo mundial para atajar la contaminación por plásticos en su origen
  • Más del 60% de los ecosistemas marinos están degradados o se utilizan de forma insostenible. La cumbre pretende impulsar los esfuerzos para proteger el 30% de los océanos de aquí a 2030 y poner en marcha una hoja de ruta para descarbonizar el transporte marítimo
  • Las poblaciones mundiales de peces dentro de límites biológicos seguros se han desplomado del 90% en la década de 1970 a sólo el 62% en 2021. Niza espera allanar el camino para un nuevo acuerdo internacional sobre pesca sostenible
  • Más de 3000 millones de personas dependen de la biodiversidad marina para su subsistencia. En respuesta, la cumbre pretende impulsar la financiación de las economías azules y promover soluciones comunitarias

En los pequeños Estados insulares en desarrollo, el océano no es sólo un motor económico, sino un salvavidas.

De París a Niza

El momento elegido para la cumbre es intencionado. Una década después de que el histórico Acuerdo de París estableciera objetivos para limitar el calentamiento global, la UNOC3 está presionando para situar el océano en el centro de la acción climática, no como algo secundario, sino como un campo de batalla en primera línea.

“La UNOC3 aborda la crisis interconectada a la que se enfrentan nuestros océanos”, señaló Li.

La cumbre también pretende ser integradora, destacando voces a menudo marginadas en los foros mundiales, como las de las mujeres, los indígenas, los pescadores y las comunidades costeras.

“Estos grupos son los primeros en sufrir los efectos del cambio climático y la degradación de los océanos”, subrayó Li. “Pero también son líderes y solucionadores de problemas, por lo que hay que darles poder”.

Un momento crucial

Niza no es sólo un telón de fondo: es parte de la historia. El Mediterráneo se está calentando un 20% más rápido que la media mundial, lo que la convierte en un “punto caliente” climático. Para muchos, la ubicación no hace sino agudizar lo que está en juego.

Que la conferencia genere un impulso real o simplemente más declaraciones dependerá de lo que los países, las empresas y las comunidades pongan sobre la mesa.

Mientras los delegados descienden por la soleada costa de Niza, el mar baña suavemente las orillas. Pero la pregunta que surge con la marea es cualquier cosa menos suave: ¿puede el mundo dar la vuelta a la situación?

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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Alimentos contaminados geram prejuízo de US$ 95 bilhões em países mais pobres

Portuguese News
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Alimentos contaminados geram prejuízo de US$ 95 bilhões em países mais pobres

O Dia Mundial da Segurança dos Alimentos é celebrado todo 7 de junho. A data reforça a importância do acesso a quantidades suficientes de alimentos em bom estado para sustentar a vida e promover a saúde.

A proposta é reforçar medidas que garantam que os alimentos permaneçam seguros em todas as etapas da cadeia alimentar, incluindo produção, processamento, armazenamento, distribuição e consumo.

Risco de mais de 200 doenças

Alimentos que contêm bactérias, vírus, parasitas ou substâncias químicas nocivas causam mais de 200 doenças.

Estimativas recentes indicam que o impacto da comida em mal estado custa aos países de baixa e média rendas cerca de US$ 95 bilhões em perda de produtividade a cada ano.

As doenças transmitidas por essa via são geralmente de natureza infecciosa ou tóxica e, muitas vezes, invisíveis a olho nu, e entram no corpo por meio de alimentos ou água contaminados.

Anualmente, são registrados cerca de 600 milhões de casos, um impacto sentido principalmente por pessoas vulneráveis ​​e marginalizadas, especialmente mulheres e crianças, populações afetadas por conflitos e migrantes.

Estima-se que 420 mil pessoas morrem todos os anos após ingerir comida contaminada, e crianças menores de 5 anos constituem 40% dos casos, com 125 mil mortes a cada ano.

No Dia Mundial da Segurança dos Alimentos, a ONU enfatiza que todos têm um papel a desempenhar

Segurança dos alimentos na agenda pública

O Dia Mundial da Segurança dos Alimentos visa chamar a atenção e inspirar ações para ajudar a prevenir, detectar e gerenciar riscos de origem alimentar.

A Organização Mundial da Saúde, OMS, e a Organização das Nações Unidas para a Alimentação e a Agricultura, FAO, promovem conjuntamente a celebração da data, em colaboração com os Estados-membros e outras organizações relevantes.

Este Dia Internacional é uma oportunidade para integrar a segurança dos alimentos na agenda pública e reduzir a carga de doenças.

Source of original article: United Nations / Nações Unidas (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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Stigmatised for being deaf: Zénabou’s Story

African News - African Diaspora
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Stigmatised for being deaf: Zénabou’s Story

“I always had the painful experience of seeing the other children go to school with their rucksacks,” says 14-year-old Zénabou. “It was tormenting because even though I was burning with a desire to find out what happened in the schools where these children went every morning, I realised very early on that it was a system that wasn’t made for me because I was different.”

For many children with disabilities, the doors to education have remained firmly shut, leaving them with few opportunities and little hope for the future. Yet, in the Central African Republic (CAR) today, children like Zénabou are finally receiving the adapted support and educational opportunities that they deserve thanks to a new inclusive education pilot initiative.

The programme is providing essential resources like learning materials, mobility aids, and specialized classes to learn Braille and sign language; creating a network of community support for families; and integrating children with disabilities into local schools.

Zénabou, a deaf teenager in the Central African Republic, in her classroom.

A Door Opens

Zénabou sits at the desk in her classroom, workbook in front of her, and surrounded by classmates. She smiles as she watches her teacher write something on the blackboard. It might look like an ordinary scene to someone passing by but to the fourteen-year-old and other children with disabilities like her, this is an extraordinary moment.

Before she enrolled in classes, Zénabou would stay at home most of the day, helping her mom with household chores. Her hours were filled with washing dishes, cleaning clothes and fetching water for her family.

“Going to school was something I’d never hoped for,” she signs. “The day I went to school for the first time, I suddenly realised that I wasn’t the only one in this situation. Seeing more than 30 deaf people in the same place was astonishing!”

Through a multi-year investment, specialised classes for deaf and visually impaired children are held in Bambari, CAR, within ordinary primary schools. There, children like Zénabou who have often never even stepped foot in school are taught to read, write and count, and learn Braille or sign language. These crucial skills unlock a world of learning for them.

Before attending school, Zénabou could barely communicate with those around her. Her parents saw few opportunities for her future. Illiterate themselves, they wanted more for their daughter, but considering her disability, they had no hope. But everything changed when she was given the access, resources and support to learn.

Zénabou in her classroom

“My daughter Zénabou is now able to assert herself as a person, despite the communication barriers caused by the fact that she is deaf,” says Zénabou’s Father. “I’m now optimistic about Zénabou’s future and I know she’s going to succeed!”

Education Crisis in CAR

The Central African Republic is one of the toughest places in the world to be a child. Conflict, displacement and instability are undermining efforts for peaceful development, putting children and adolescents at serious risk. Years of violence have contributed to the breakdown of what were already limited services. Access to healthcare, livelihood opportunities and education is very limited or non-existent in large parts of the country.

The country’s education system is grappling with significant challenges, particularly for children with disabilities. Prolonged conflicts have devastated the educational infrastructure, leaving a million children and adolescents out of school. This crisis disproportionately affects children with disabilities, who face compounded barriers to education due to stigma surrounding disabilities and limited access to specialized support.

Addressing these challenges requires concerted efforts to rebuild educational infrastructure, promote inclusive teaching practices, and combat societal stigma to ensure that all children have access to an inclusive, quality education.​

Zénabou with her sister, Aziza

Inclusive education in the Central African Republic

  • Working with organizations that represent persons with disabilities is key to ensuring their participation in decision-making, as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has also been recognized to be necessary for social change, to promote autonomy and to ensure the empowerment of persons with disabilities.
  • This groundbreaking initiative is funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises in the United Nations
  • It is supported by the UN children’s agency UNICEF, partners like Humanity and Inclusion and national organizations, including the Centre d’Alphabétisation et de Formation en Braille pour les Aveugles en Centrafrique’ and the  Association Nationale des Déficients Auditifs de Centrafrique.

Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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Alimentos contaminados geram prejuízo de US$ 95 bilhões em países mais pobres

Portuguese News
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Alimentos contaminados geram prejuízo de US$ 95 bilhões em países mais pobres

Em Dia Mundial da Segurança dos Alimentos, ONU ressalta risco de mais de 200 doenças que podem surgir do consumo de produtos nocivos à saúde; 40% das vítimas estão abaixo de 5 anos.

Source of original article: United Nations / Nações Unidas (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.net).

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