Headline: Workshop: The SDGs for the Oceans and their Implementation in and by Germany

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) establish a common agenda for the protection and sustainable use of the world’s oceans and the resolution of major challenges to sustainable development. The SDG for the oceans (Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) is underpinned by ten specific targets (covering pollution, fisheries, the protection of marine ecosystems and more) and is indivisibly linked with SDGs addressing the issues of poverty (SDG1), hunger (SDG2), employment and economic growth (SDG 8), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13) and more.

Given the importance of the world’s oceans and in order to address the specific challenges that their governance presents, the UN General Assembly has adopted a motion to hold a high-level conference in New York in June 2017 to support the implementation of SDG 14. In preparation for this conference and the forthcoming review of efforts to implement SDG 14 at the United Nations high level political forum on sustainable development (10–19 July 2017, New York), the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies, TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability, “The Future Ocean” Cluster Of Excellence | Kiel University, and GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel will jointly host a workshop at the IASS in Potsdam on 24 January 2017 to discuss the implementation of the SDGs for the world’s oceans, seas, and coasts. The implementation of the SDGs in and by Germany as part of its cooperation development activities or within the context of European or international cooperation, for example, will form a particular focus of this workshop.