World Ocean Day 2021 celebrates the theme - 'The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods'

World Ocean Day is celebrated every year on June 8th to encourage public interest in the protection of oceans. To safeguard the seas, the United Nations (UN) has urged for long-term initiatives and a reduction in plastic pollution.

The objective of celebrating this day is to raise public awareness about the effects of human actions on the ocean, to build a global movement for the ocean and to organise and unify the global population behind a project for the long-term management of the world's oceans.

The ocean supplies at least half of the world's oxygen and is home to the majority of the planet's biodiversity. It is the primary source of protein for over a billion people worldwide. The ocean is critical to our economy, with ocean-based sectors expected to employ 40 million people by 2030.

The theme for this year, "The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods" is especially timely in the run-up to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which will take place from 2021 to 2030. The Decade will increase worldwide collaboration in order to advance scientific research and breakthrough technologies that link ocean science to societal demands.

The ocean is the planet's beating heart, over two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by water. These deep waters are home to animals and some of the largest organisms on the planet, sea plants like Posidonia create 70% of the oxygen humans breathe. It supplies us with food, employment, a way of life among many other things. We simply cannot do without it, which is why we need to sustain this invaluable resource.

The following are some of the few points which prove how essential Oceans are to human existence:

Breathing Air: More than half of the world's oxygen supply is produced by the ocean, which also absorbs 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. It produces more oxygen than the Amazon rainforests.

Climate regulation: The ocean distributes heat from the equator to the poles and cold water from poles to the tropics, managing our temperature and climate patterns, since it covers 70% of the Earth's surface.

Food: The ocean supplies more than just fish and other seafood; sea-derived components may be found in unexpected dishes like peanut butter and soymilk.

Economic benefits: Subsectors such as that of coastal and maritime tourism, Aquaculture, Renewable Energy, Mineral Resources, Biotechnology, Fisheries, Shipbuilding and Ship repair, Offshore Oil and Gas, and Transport create massive employment for people.

Transportation: Passenger travel might have reduced immensely with the popularity of aviation travel; however oceans still accounts for 80% of world trade.

Medicine: The ocean provides several therapeutic and medicinal compounds, including elements that aid in the treatment of arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, Cancer and heart diseases.