Background
Specialized Module on SDG 14, an online educational tool to enhance Ocean Literacy
About the Ocean
Oceans are the largest Earth’s ecosystem and an essential component to life on earth. They cover more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and contain 97% of the planet’s water. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by creating sustainable livelihoods and decent work. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. In addition, oceans are crucial for global food security and human health. They are also the primary regulator of the global climate, an important sink for greenhouse gases and they provide us with water and the oxygen we breathe. Finally, oceans host huge reservoirs of biodiversity. The importance of oceans for sustainable development is widely recognized by the international community and the General Assembly adopted resolutions to organise in 2017 and then in 2020 the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Partnership to develop an online training Module on SDG 14
Last year at the High-Level Political Forum 2020, during SDG Learning and Training Session, DSDG launched a partnership with Sulitest, an NGO working to improving sustainability literacy, and Mercator Ocean International on developing a specialized Module on SDG 14. In this process, a group of experts working on the ocean from a wide variety of organizations gathered and discuss for long hours through various online workshops to contribute to creation of this educational tool, Module on SDG 14/Ocean.
This was developed as part of efforts to keep the momentum going towards the UN Ocean Conference in 2022. Module SDG 14 serves as an important educational tool to raise awareness of the importance of the Ocean and improve Ocean literary and help individuals from different groups to make more informed choices as there is not a single person on the Earth who is not affected by the Ocean – whether it is regarding to livelihood, job, food, or breathing. The topics in the Module cover the important role of the Ocean in achieving the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, including but not limited to Goal 1 (End Poverty), Goal 2(End Hunger), Goal 13 (Climate Change), and Goal 15 (Life at land).
Launch of the Module on SDG 14
On July 9th, 2021 DSDG, together with Sulitest and Mercator Ocean, launched the SDG14 training module developed. The event was featured as part of the HLPF virtual side event programme and was attended by more than 175 participants. The SG’s Special Envoy for the Ocean provided a video address and DSDG delivered opening remarks and moderated proceedings. The module concludes a one-year collaborative process between the organizing partners. The module includes features such as an online quiz, interactive training tools, and links to additional sources on ocean issues. It is expected that the module will be showcased on-site at the UN Ocean Conference as part of the side event programme.
A video recording of the event is available on the Mercator Ocean Youtube Channel : https://youtu.be/rpT84ZM5gA4
Anyone or group can take the Module SDG 14 Quiz or Module. For instructions, please refer to the following links: