[4][5] Recognises that oceans and coasts provide valuable resources and services to support human populations, particularly coastal communities that heavily depend on them.
Sustainable use of marine living resources will enhance global food security and reduce poverty for present and future generations.
The declaration will be put forward to the UN FCCC and hopefully adopted at the COP 15 in Copenhagen at the end of the year.
The contents of the declaration include the commitment to long-term conservation, management, and sustainable use of marine living resources, establish national strategies to sustainably manage marine and coastal ecosystems and enhance their resilience, reduce land- and sea-based pollution, and also to increase understanding and information exchange on coasts, oceans and climate change, particularly in developing countries.
[8][10] Despite criticism the MOD was not strong enough to push the international community to help developing nations deal with the impacts of climate change, Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi, chairman of the conference, said the WOC had put oceans center stage in world attention and raised awareness of the importance of oceans in climate change.