UK councils are being urged to sign a "motion for the ocean" – pledging to engage with citizens to promote ocean recovery.
Plymouth City Council, Falmouth Town Council and South Tyneside Council have already passed ocean recovery motions.
The team behind the project have created a model motion for councils to adapt and adopt, in the hope of creating a movement similar to that seen with climate emergency declarations.
The motion was written by Dr Pamela Buchan, a University of Exeter researcher and Plymouth City Councillor; Emily Cunningham, Lead Officer of the Local Government Association (LGA) Coastal Special Interest Group; and Nicola Bridge, Head of Ocean Advocacy and Engagement at the Ocean Conservation Trust.
"The need for ocean recovery to mitigate some of the worst impacts of the climate emergency and support the wellbeing and prosperity of coastal communities is urgent," said Dr Buchan, who proposed the motion that was adopted by the city of Plymouth. For too long, the ocean has been side-lined in climate debates and taken for granted by our island nation, but people and politicians are beginning to understand that we can’t mitigate the impacts of climate change without addressing how we use and manage our coastal and ocean environments. My research as a marine social scientist shows that connecting emotionally with the sea and feeling dependent upon it for your wellbeing are really important factors in motivating people to take marine environmental action. This motion recognises that we need to connect people to the ocean in sustainable ways."
Dr Buchan's ESRC-funded PhD research focussed on "marine citizenship" – people feeling responsible for the marine environment and taking action to transform the relationship people have with the ocean.
She hopes UK people will feel "empowered to act as marine citizens" and ask their local councillors to support an ocean recovery declaration.
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Posted On: 02/02/2022