2022 -- H 8331

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

RECOGNIZING JUNE 8TH OF 2022, AS "WORLD OCEANS DAY" IN THE STATE OF

RHODE ISLAND, AND THE URGENT IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING AND

PRESERVING OUR OCEANS AND THEIR RESOURCES

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Carson, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Filippi,
Speakman, Donovan, Fogarty, and Ajello

     Date Introduced: June 08, 2022

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, World Oceans Day is an international day that takes place annually on June

8. It was originally proposed by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) in

1992 at the Earth Summit's United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

(UNCED). World Oceans Day received official recognition by the United Nations in 2008; and

     WHEREAS, The ocean covers more than seventy percent of planet Earth, and produces

approximately fifty percent of the planet's oxygen. It is home to most of the earth's biodiversity

and is the primary source of protein for more than a billion people. The ocean is one of the most

important sources of economic activity across the globe, with it being estimated that forty million

people will be employed by ocean-related businesses by 2030. More than ninety-five percent of

the ocean remains unexplored; and

     WHEREAS, Today, the ocean is at a tipping point and desperately needs to be protected

by all nations. It is estimated that ninety percent of the fish populations have been depleted and

fifty percent of the coral reefs have perished. We are currently taking far more from our oceans

than can be replenished, and it is essential to work together today to restore our oceans vibrancy

and bounty; and

     WHEREAS, The United Nations Decade of the Ocean Science for Sustainable

Development began in 2021, and is seeking to accelerate research in ocean science, strengthen

international cooperation, improve ocean management and eventually develop a complete digital

atlas of the ocean. Incredibly, less than twenty percent of the global ocean is currently mapped;

and

     WHEREAS, The theme for this year's United Nations World Oceans Day is

"Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean." This celebration will be hosted at the United

Nations Headquarters in New York and will be broadcast live across the globe. The hope and

goal is to "shed light on the communities, ideas, and solutions that are working together to protect

and revitalize the ocean and everything it sustains"; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

recognizes June 8th of 2022 as "World Oceans Day" in the State of Rhode Island, and the urgent

importance of protecting and preserving our oceans and their resources; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the

United Nations, Ms. Kate Sutter, Community Engagement Manager, the Ocean Project, and Mr.

Stan Brajer, Chair, the Surfrider Foundation, Rhode Island Chapter.

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