World Ocean Day (acronym: WOD) is an international day that takes place annually on 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Ocean Project started global coordination of World Ocean Day starting in 2002. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. World Oceans Day is observed by all UN member states, incl. Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan and the United States.
History
1987–1992
The Brundtland Commission (also known as the World Commission on Environment and Development) noted in the 1987 Brundtland Report that the ocean sector lacked a strong voice compared to other sectors.
At the first World Ocean Day in 1992, the objectives were to move the ocean from the sidelines to the centre of the intergovernmental and NGO discussions and policy and to strengthen the voice of ocean and coastal constituencies worldwide.
2002–2008
Globally coordinated efforts began with The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network collaborating, and events numbered in the dozens. During this time, www.WorldOceanDay.org launched, to help promote the opportunity to raise the profile of the ocean and provide opportunities for getting involved and making a difference for our blue planet. The website provides event organisers with ways to help in their communities, and generates global involvement through the dissemination of educational and actionable resources, ideas, and tools, always free for everyone to use to celebrate World Ocean Day in whatever way they choose. In 2004, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched the "Help Make a Difference for our Ocean Planet!" with both online and in person opportunities to sign a petition to the United Nations to officially recognise 8 June as World Ocean Day. In December 2008, the UN General Assembly passed a Declaration to officially recognise the Day.
Annual themes
Overview
The United Nations selected the following annual themes for the Day: 2009: "Our Oceans, Our Responsibilities" 2010: "Our Oceans: Opportunities and Challenges" 2011: "Our Oceans: greening our future" 2012: "UNCLOS @ 30" — United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 2013: "Oceans & People" 2014: "Ocean Sustainability: Together let's ensure oceans can sustain us into the future" 2015: "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet" 2016: "Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet — Voyaging to a Sustainable Planet: Arrival of the Hōkūle‘a" 2017: "Our Oceans, Our Future" 2018: "Clean our Ocean!" 2019: "Gender and Oceans" 2020: "Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean" 2021: "The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods" 2022: "Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean" 2023: "Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing"
2008
The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched an annual theme for the first time: "Helping our climate / helping our ocean" with a special focus on coral reefs, to help support the International Year of the Reef.
2009–2010
Continued and more heavily emphasised on climate with conservation action theme of "one ocean, one climate, one future" because comprehensive polling work showed that the public not making the connections between climate change and ocean health.
2010
The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network recorded over 300 events for WOD 2010, a 26% increase over 2009. Participation in the United States increased by 32% (with participation in 37 states, as compared to 25 states the previous year). Forty-five countries participated in World Oceans Day 2010, including Bangladesh, Belgium, French Polynesia, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malta, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Portugal.
2011–2012
Based on growing requests from around the world for a two-year focus, The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network launched "Youth: the Next Wave for Change" encouraging all participating organizations to more effectively engage young people in their communities and countries for education and action.
2013
The "Make a Promise" global campaign focused again on supporting organizations to use World Oceans Day events as opportunities to ask people in their communities or target audiences to take action for our shared ocean.