The Nippon Foundation and the Economist Group have announced their Back to Blue initiative in response to rising concerns about the levels of pollution in our oceans.
Back to Blue is a three-year collaboration and comes on the back of a global survey which found that plastic pollution and chemical pollution are the top two concerns about our oceans.
The initiative was announced at the 8th annual World Ocean Summit and is now under development. In the long run, the program aims to develop a science-based response to the issues faced by the oceans.
Commenting on the new program, The Economist Group Chairman Lord Deighton stated:
“We [at The Economist Group] have also developed our own passion for the ocean. We held our first World Ocean Summit in 2012, after we had argued in the newspaper that the seas were in trouble, and that human activities were having a profound impact on ocean health. A decade or so later we are more committed than ever to our vision of an ocean in robust health and with a vital economy. The ocean is too big to fail.”
While the Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa added:
“We are much aware of the land-based problems that occur around us[…]; however, when it comes to understanding the multifaceted problems of the ocean that covers 70% of the earth surface, I believe that our understanding is still very poor. This is already a threat to human security for every individual on this planet.”
You can find out more about the Back to Blue Initiative here.
