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2017 United Nations Ocean Conference
The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference was a United Nations conference that took place on 5-9 June 2017 which sought to mobilize action for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources. The Earth's waters are said to be "under threat as never before", with pollution, overfishing, and the effects of climate change severely damaging the health of our oceans. For instance as oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, biodiversity is becoming reduced and changing currents will cause more frequent storms and droughts. Every year around 8 million metric tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean and make it into the circular ocean currents. This causes contamination of sediments at the sea-bottom and causes plastic waste to be embedded in the aquatic food chain. It could lead to oceans containing more plastics than fish by 2050 if nothing is done. Key habitats such as coral reefs are at risk and noise pollution are a threat to whales, dolphins, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Headquarters Of The United Nations
zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , image_size = 400px , caption = Viewed across the East River from Roosevelt Island in 2021; from left to right: the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buildings. In the background (from left to right) are the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, One Vanderbilt, and other skyscrapers. , location = , address = 760 United Nations Plaza,Manhattan, New York City, New York ( 10017-6818),United States , coordinates = , start_date = , completion_date = , inauguration_date = , architect = Board of designers mediated by Harrison & Abramovitz , owner = United Nations , cost = $65 million ($ adjusted for inflation) , floor_count = 39 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Thomson (diplomat)
Peter Thomson (born 1948) is a Fijian diplomat and the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, and President of the United Nations General Assembly from September 2016 until September 2017. He served as Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations February 2010 to August 2017, with concurrent duties as Fiji's Ambassador to Cuba. In his capacity as Fiji's Permanent Representative to the UN, in 2014, Thomson served as president of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office of Project Services. In the same capacity, in 2013, he took responsibility for Fiji's Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China, the UN's largest negotiating group, made up of 133 developing countries. In 2011, he was elected as president of the 17th Session of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and in 2015 was elected as president of 21st Session of the ISA Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabited, except for the permanently manned Raoul Island Station, the northernmost outpost of New Zealand. The islands are listed with the New Zealand outlying islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, but not part of any region or district, but instead an ''Area Outside Territorial Authority''. Toponymy The islands were named after the Breton captain Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec, who visited the islands as part of the d'Entrecasteaux expedition in the 1790s. The topographic particle "Kermadec" is of Breton origin and is a lieu-dit in Pencran in Finistère where '' ker'' means village, residence and madec a proper name derived from '' mad'' (which means 'good') with the suffix '' -ec'', used to form adjectives in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastline Of China
China’s coastline covers approximately 14,500 km (around 9,010 mi) from the Bohai gulf in the north to the Gulf of Tonkin in the south. Most of the northern half is low lying, although some of the mountains and hills of Northeast China and the Shandong Peninsula extend to the coast. The southern half is more irregular. In Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, for example, much of the coast is rocky and steep. South of this area the coast becomes less rugged: Low mountains and hills extend more gradually to the coast, and small river deltas are common. China’s coasts are on the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. China claims a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and a 200-nautical-mile continental shelf or the distance to the edge of the continental shelf. Seas *Yellow Sea *East China Sea *South China Sea Straits *Bohai Strait (渤海海峡) *Taiwan Strait *Qiongzhou Strait Islands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phase-out Of Lightweight Plastic Bags
A plastic bag ban is a law that restricts the use of lightweight plastic bags at retail establishments. In the early 21st century, there has been a global trend towards the phase-out of lightweight plastic bags. Single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic, have traditionally been given for free to customers by stores when purchasing goods: the bags have long been considered a convenient, cheap, and hygienic way of transporting items. Problems associated with plastic bags include use of non-renewable resources (such as crude oil, gas and coal), difficulties during disposal, and environmental impacts. Concurrently with the reduction in lightweight plastic bags, shops have introduced reusable shopping bags. Various governments have banned the sale of lightweight bags, charge customers for lightweight bags, or generate taxes from the stores that sell them. The Bangladesh government was the first to do so in 2002, imposing a total ban on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plastic Bag
A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging. Most plastic bags are heat sealed at the seams, while some are bonded with adhesives or are stitched. Many countries are introducing legislation to phase-out lightweight plastic bags, because plastic never fully breaks down, causing everlasting pollution of plastics and environmental impacts. Every year, about 1 to 5 trillion plastic bags are used and discarded around the world. From point of sale to destination, plastic bags have a lifetime of 12 minutes. Approximately 320 bags per capita were used in 2014 in the United States of America. Package Several design options and features are available. Some bags have gussets to allow a higher volume of contents, special stand-up p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodegradable Plastic
Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, petrochemicals, or combinations of all three. While the words "bioplastic" and "biodegradable plastic" are similar, they are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics (plastics derived partly or entirely from biomass) are biodegradable, and some biodegradable plastics are fully petroleum based. As more companies are keen to be seen as having "Green" credentials, solutions such as using bioplastics are being investigated and implemented more. However there are many skeptics who believe that bioplastics will not solve problems others expect. History Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) was first observed in bacteria in 1888 by Martinus Beijerinck. In 1926, French microbiologist Maurice Lemoigne chemically identified the polymer after extracting it from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wu Hongbo
Wu Hongbo (; born May 1952 in Shandong) is a Chinese diplomat. Until July 2017 he was the Under-Secretary-General in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He replaced Sha Zukang as the head of DESA. Wu held various high-ranking positions and collected extensive experience in diplomacy. He has worked as Assistant Foreign Minister and Chinese Ambassador to Germany prior to this appointment. He has also worked in a number of locations including Hong Kong, Macao, and Manila. He graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University and also studied at Victoria University of Wellington. Controversy about impartiality In 2018, Wu told a studio audience that while he was an "international civil servant", who by the UN Charter are not allowed to take orders from their own country's government, that rule had exceptions, saying: "When it comes to Chinese national sovereignty and security, we will undoubtedly defend our country’s interests." As an example, he cited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Island Developing States
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a group of developing countries that are small island countries which tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, vulnerability to external shocks, excessive dependence on international trade, and fragile environments. Their growth and development is also held back by high communication, energy and transportation costs, irregular international transport volumes, disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size, and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale. They consist of some of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Barbados Programme of Action was produced in 1994 to assist the SIDS in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island State
An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically more stable countries than many continental states but are vulnerable to conquest by naval superpowers. There are great variations between island country economies: they may rely mainly on extractive industries, such as mining, fishing and agriculture, and/or on services such as transit hubs, tourism, and financial services. Many islands have low-lying geographies and their economies and population centers develop along coast plains and ports; such states may be vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially sea level rise. Remote or significant islands and archipelagos that are not themselves sovereign are often known as dependencies or overseas territories. Politics Historically, island countries have tended to be less pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.''What is Civil Society'' civilsoc.org By other authors, ''civil society'' is used in the sense of 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that advance the interests and will of citizens or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government. Sometimes the term ''civil society'' is used in the more general sense of "the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society" ('''' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Protected Area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conservation purpose, typically to protect natural or cultural resources. Such marine resources are protected by local, state, territorial, native, regional, national, or international authorities and differ substantially among and between nations. This variation includes different limitations on development, fishing practices, fishing seasons and catch limits, moorings and bans on removing or disrupting marine life. In some situations (such as with the Phoenix Islands Protected Area), MPAs also provide revenue for countries, potentially equal to the income that they would have if they were to grant companies permissions to fish. The value of MPA to mobile species is unknown. There are a number of global examples of large marine conservation are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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